Government of India launches the e-Shram Portal

Source: PIB

What is the News?

The Minister for Labour and Employment has formally launched the e-Shram portal.

About e-Shram portal:

• e-Shram portal has been developed for creating a National Database of the Unorganized Workers(NDUW).
• Key Objective: To implement social security schemes for the unorganized workers.

Key Features of the Portal:

1. There are no income criteria for registering on e-SHRAM as an unorganized worker. However, one should not be an income tax payee.
2. Any worker who is unorganized and aged between 16-59 is eligible to register on the e-SHRAM portal.
3. Documents like the Aadhaar Number, mobile number, Aadhaar linked bank account will be required by the worker to register on the portal.
   • If a worker does not have an Aadhaar linked mobile number, he can visit the nearest Common Service Centre(CSC) and register through Biometric authentication.
4. After registering, workers shall be issued an e-Shram card with a 12 digit unique Universal Account Number (UAN), It will be used to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this Card anywhere anytime.
5. Moreover, the workers registered on the portal would be given accidental insurance cover. They will be also eligible for Rs 2 lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs 1 lakh in case of partial disability.

Who is an Unorganized worker?

1. Any worker who is a home-based worker, self-employed worker or a wage worker working in the unorganized sector and not a member of ESIC or EPFO, is called an unorganized worker.
2. There are varying estimates of the number of unorganised workers. According to the Economic Survey (2018-19), 93% of the total workforce in India is in the Unorganized Sector.