India sets up social security boards for gig and unorganised workers

India has set up national boards to design welfare schemes for unorganised, gig and platform workers, bringing app-based workers such as delivery riders and cab drivers closer to formal social protection. The Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the constitution of the boards on Friday, 30 October, under the Code on Social Security, 2020.

There are two boards: a 40-member National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and a 22-member board for gig and platform workers. Both are chaired by Union Labour Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, with the Labour Secretary as vice-chair. Their members include representatives of the central and state governments, aggregator companies, employers, civil society organisations, trade unions and worker associations.

The boards are mandated to design, monitor and recommend targeted welfare schemes, advise the government on the administration of the Code, and review state record-keeping and spending from the fund. They must meet at least three times a year.

The notification itself announces no new cash benefits. It sets up the machinery; the actual welfare schemes still have to be framed by the government. The Code envisages benefits such as life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits and old-age protection, and provides for aggregators to contribute 1 to 2 percent of annual turnover towards a social security fund.

The make-up of the boards has already drawn criticism. The Indian Express reported that the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh holds three of seven worker seats and Laghu Udyog Bharati three of seven employer seats — six of 14 between two organisations linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — while major unions including CITU and AITUC have no representative.

Why it matters

Gig and platform workers were defined in Indian law for the first time only when the Code on Social Security came into force on 21 November 2025. Until then, riders, drivers and freelancers who earn outside a traditional employer-employee relationship sat outside the formal welfare system, with no fixed salary, paid leave or medical cover. The boards are the first national bodies charged with turning that legal recognition into actual schemes.

What happens next

No date has been announced yet for the boards’ first meetings. Watch for which schemes the government frames first, when aggregator contributions begin, and whether the row over union representation changes the boards’ membership.

Sources

• https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/govt-notifies-national-social-security-board-for-gig-platform-workers/article71643992.ece/amp/ (The Hindu BusinessLine / PTI, 30 October 2026)
• https://thefreedompress.in/govt-notifies-social-security-boards-for-gig-and-unorganised-workers/ (IANS via The Freedom Press, 30 October 2026)
• https://maktoobmedia.com/post?id=116825&slug=rss-outfits-take-over-newly-formed-national-board-for-gig-workers-recognised-unions-shut-out (Maktoob Media, 31 October 2026)

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.