Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, will inaugurate a two-day international seminar titled “Formalization and Social Security Coverage for Workers in the Informal Sector: Challenges and Innovations” today in New Delhi. The event is organized by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, in collaboration with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA), at the Yashobhoomi – India International Convention and Expo Centre.
Distinguished Participation
The inaugural session will also be attended by Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for Labour & Employment, and Ms. Sumita Dawra, Secretary (Labour & Employment). The seminar will host over 150 participants, including policymakers, social security administrators, and experts from Asia-Pacific countries. Representatives from international organizations like the World Bank, United Nations, International Labour Organization (ILO), UN Women, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will also contribute their insights.
Seminar Focus
The seminar aims to:
1. Address challenges and explore innovations in extending social security to informal sector workers.
2. Discuss pathways to formalization and improving outreach through digital solutions, incentives, and communication strategies.
3. Promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through expanded social security coverage.
Key Topics:
Extending health and medical care insurance.
Innovative approaches to include vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups.
Sharing of international best practices and India’s initiatives in labour welfare, such as the e-Shram portal, National Career Service, and the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme.
India’s Milestones in Social Protection
India’s efforts in enhancing social security for informal workers have been recognized globally:
India’s social protection coverage doubled from 24.4% to 48.8%, as per the ILO’s World Social Protection Report (WSPR) 2024-26, thanks to a national data pooling exercise involving 34 central government schemes.
Approximately 920 million people in India now benefit from at least one social protection scheme.
India’s Targeted Public Distribution System, providing food security to 800 million people, has been acknowledged as one of the world’s largest legally binding social assistance programs.
Future Roadmap
The Ministry plans to collaborate with state governments to map state-level welfare schemes for more accurate reporting in future global assessments. This initiative aims to:
Increase social protection coverage further.
Identify and address gaps in beneficiary outreach.
The seminar is expected to strengthen regional collaboration and enhance the capacity of stakeholders to ensure inclusive and effective social security coverage for informal workers.
