E-Shram Portal and One Stop Solution (OSS)

The e-Shram Portal, launched by the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoL&E) in May 2021, aims to create a comprehensive national database of unorganised workers in India, particularly focusing on migrant workers. This initiative was prompted by the challenges faced by these workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a Supreme Court directive for a national worker database.

Overview of e-Shram Portal

Largest Database: The e-Shram portal is claimed to be the largest database of unorganised workers globally, with over 300 million registered workers.

Objectives

The portal’s primary goals include:

• Creating a centralized database for various categories of unorganised workers (e.g., construction workers, gig workers, street vendors).
• Enhancing the implementation of social security services and integrating various welfare schemes.
• Facilitating the portability of benefits for migrant and construction workers.

Historical Context

• The need for a national database was recognized long before the e-Shram portal’s inception:
  • Interstate Migrant Workmen Act (1979): Mandated licensing for labour contractors and required them to report details about interstate workers.
  • National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (2007): Advocated for a universal registration system for migrant workers.
  • Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act (2008): Included worker registration and identity card provisions.
• Despite these previous recommendations, implementation was lacking, leaving many migrant workers invisible and vulnerable.

Challenges Faced by Migrant Workers

Migrants, particularly seasonal and circular workers, face:

• High mobility-driven distress, disenfranchisement, and stigma.
• Poor access to public services, lack of unionisation, and trafficking.
• Exclusion from essential benefits like ration cards and food security (e.g., 80 million were excluded in 2022 despite registration).

The Launch of One-Stop Solution (OSS)

Objective: To provide seamless access to various social security schemes for e-Shram-registered workers.

Key Features

• Integration of welfare schemes like One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), MGNREGA, PM Shram Yogi Maandhan, and National Social Assistance Programme.
• Plans to link additional schemes like PM Matru Vandana Yojana and Shramik Suraksha Yojana.
• Aims to ensure portability of benefits across states for migrant workers.

Achievements

• Registration drive reached 286 million workers by 2022.
• Positive trend: 59% of registrants are women, reflecting progress in gender inclusion in labour registration.

Concerns and Limitations

• Documentation Barriers: Migrants often lack essential identity proofs like Aadhaar or ration cards.
  • Issues with mobile phone numbers (non-permanent or not linked to Aadhaar) exclude many from registration.
  • The absence of proper documentation continues to hinder universal social security access.
• Lack of Comprehensive Data: Migrant workers are a heterogeneous category with socio-cultural, regional, and economic diversity.
  • The absence of detailed data disaggregation hinders equitable policy design.
• Portability Issues: Interstate migrants need portable welfare entitlements, which remain a work in progress under OSS.
• Gender Sensitivity: Although women comprise a majority of e-Shram registrations, gender-sensitive policies in social security schemes are still lacking.
• Avoidance of “Freebie Culture”: Migrants should be treated as assets, not burdens. Social protection schemes must focus on human development outcomes rather than subsidies.

Future Outlook

• The government should view migrants as assets rather than merely recipients of subsidies, emphasizing human development outcomes.
• The MoL&E must ensure that welfare entitlements are transferable across states and locations.
• The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development warns that poorly managed migration can hinder development.
• Migrant workers contribute significantly to the Indian economy, necessitating better-designed social protection systems for their inclusion.

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