Social net widens: India eyes higher ILO rank with 60% coverage by Sep

Social security, according to the ILO, is defined as a system of contribution-based health, pension, and unemployment protection, along with tax-financed social benefits. The ILO comes out with its ‘World Social Protection Report’ (WSPR) every two years, and rates member countries based on these parameters.

It also considers progress in adhering to two UN SDG (sustainable development goals) indicators — population covered by at least one social protection benefit (excluding health) and universal health coverage — while rating the countries.

In a recent WSPR report, the ILO had highlighted that India’s social protection coverage had doubled from 24.4 percent in 2021 to 48.8 percent in 2024, due to  government initiatives, which have extended health insurance, pension, and employment support (under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme) to millions of individuals.

The report, however, said that the extension of unemployment protection to workers in the informal sector remains a “major challenge” in India. In 2017, India’s social security coverage was 19 percent.

However, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) says that nearly 920 million people, or 65 percent of the population, are now covered by at least one form of social protection, whether in cash or kind, through central government schemes.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, during her budget '25 speech, had said that the centre will provide identity cards to gig workers and register them on the e-Shram portal. “They will (also) be provided healthcare under the PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). This is likely to assist nearly 10 million gig workers,” she had said.

In the last five-to-seven years, four key central government schemes have played a significant role in increasing social security coverage. These are Ayushman Bharat , Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), the e-Shram portal, and Atal Pension Yojana (APY).

According to official data, as of March 2025, 399.4 million Ayushman Bharat cards had been issued under PM-JAY, offering free health cover of up to ₹5 lakh per family. More than 800 million individuals are receiving free food grains under PM-GKAY; and about 307 million unorganised workers have been registered on e-Shram, through which they create a  Universal Account Number (UAN) for enhanced social security.  As of March 3, 2025, 54 percent of the workers registered  on e-Shram are women.

The APY, launched in 2015, aims to provide pension to poor, underprivileged, and unorganised workers. As of December 31, 2024, 72.5 million beneficiaries had enrolled in APY, which had an accumulated corpus of ₹43,370 crore.

“These initiatives have helped India get a higher score from ILO,” an official said. But MoLE feels that ILO’s assessment of 48.8 percent coverage may not fully capture India’s social security landscape, as it does not account for benefits such as food security and housing support or state-administered welfare schemes.

In March, the MoLE launched a comprehensive assessment of social security cover. In an official release, the ministry said that the initiative aims to consolidate data from multiple schemes for a more holistic picture of India’s welfare landscape.

In the first phase, 10 states — Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat — have been identified for data consolidation at the central level, the ministry said. MoLE has been engaged with ILO to ensure that all welfare measures are reflected in future assessments.

“The inclusion of 10 million platform workers within formal safety nets acknowledges the changing nature of work. What's particularly noteworthy is the shift toward data consolidation across 10 major states — a recognition that welfare schemes must be viewed holistically rather than in isolation,” said Rishi Shah, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.