E-Shram doesn't offer clarity on social security benefits, say experts

e-Shram was launched by the Union government on August 26 to register 380 million unorganised sector workers without charge at common service centres (CSCs), labour facilitation centres, and state seva kendras, or through self-registration. Within three months since its launch, over 91 million — or 24 per cent — of the expected 380 million had registered by November 25. More than half work in the agriculture sector — India’s largest employer.

Since its launch, some states have registered more workers than others. Nearly one in four registrations were reported in West Bengal (23 per cent), followed by Uttar Pradesh (19 per cent), Odisha (13 per cent), and Bihar (11 per cent). All four have reported a higher share of total registrations than their share of the total workforce aged 15-59 years, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2019-20 annual report. Other states have registered less than 2 per cent of their total workforce aged 15-59 years on average.

The exercise, however, has its limitations. It is focused on creating a database of workers and does not offer clarity on social security benefits, besides accident insurance that registered workers are supposed to receive, say experts.

Further, mandatory Aadhaar-based mobile linkage is proving a hurdle for registration of many workers, and biometric authentication at CSCs is problematic. Moreover, the portal is no longer sharing the data on registered migrant workers.