Number of landless farm workers in India rose to 144.3 mn in 2011

The count as per Census 2001 stood at 106.7 million

The number of landless agricultural labourers in the country rose to 144.3 million in 2011 from 106.7 million in 2001, Parliament was informed today.

"The number of landless agricultural workers in India as per Census 2001 was 106.7 million and as per Census 2011 it was 144.3 million," Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.

For the welfare of unorganised workers including sugarcane workers, the government has enacted Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008, besides various schemes to provide social security cover, he added.

In a separate query, the Minister informed the House that registration, identification and issuance of smart card/U-WIN card to unorganised workers has come under the purview of the respective state/UT governments as per the Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, 2008.

"However, the government has proposed a unified IT based platform for delivery of the services available under various social security schemes," Dattatreya added.

The proposal is being reviewed on the basis of remarks/ comments received from various stakeholders, he said.

"In view of near universal coverage of Aadhaar, the government is now working on a policy on delivery of various public services using Aadhaar, Jan Dhan Yojana account and existing platform without issuance of smart card/U-WIN card," the Minister added.