Centre notifies social security board for gig, platform and unorganised workers

The Centre on Friday notified the constitution of the “National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and Gig and Platform Workers”, bringing gig and platform workers within the institutional framework for social security policy.

The board will be chaired by the Union labour and employment minister and include representatives of the central and state governments, aggregator companies, employers, civil society organisations, workers’ unions and associations representing gig and platform workers, a release said.

Established under the statutory framework of the Code on Social Security, this marks a historic shift by integrating digital gig and platform professionals into India’s formal welfare architecture, the ministry said.

The board will recommend welfare schemes for different categories of unorganised workers, including gig and platform workers, and advise the Centre on matters related to the implementation of the Code on Social Security. It will also monitor social welfare schemes administered by the central government, review record-keeping functions at the state level and examine expenditure from the relevant funds and accounts, the release said.

The board will meet at least three times a year, it added.

Gig workers are those who perform work or participate in a work arrangement and earn from such activities outside the traditional employer-employee relationship.

Platform workers are those who engage in work through or with online platforms.

The constitution of the board comes amid growing policy focus on extending social security to workers engaged through digital platforms, including those working in ride-hailing, food delivery and other app-based services.

However, the notification does not announce any new welfare benefits or specify the financial allocation for such schemes. The board’s mandate is to recommend, advise and monitor social security programmes.

Manjeet Singh Patel, national president of the All India NPS Employees Federation (AINPSEF), welcomed the notification, saying it would bring workers in the informal and digital platform economy into the country’s formal social security framework.

“The board will not only help secure the future of the country’s large informal workforce but also pave the way for the effective implementation of targeted welfare schemes and social security mechanisms,” Patel said.