Data-pooling with ILO shows 65 pc Indians get benefits under social protection schemes
New Delhi, March 25 (IANS) India has made significant strides in enhancing its social protection coverage through a comprehensive data-pooling exercise in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The initiative has utilised encrypted Aadhaar as a unique identifier across 34 major Central schemes such as MGNREGA, EPFO, ESIC, APY, and PM-POSHAN to process over 200 crore records to identify unique beneficiaries, the Ministry of Labour announced on Tuesday.
This exercise revealed that 92 crore people, comprising 65 per cent of India’s population, are covered by at least one social protection benefit (cash and in-kind both), with 48.8 per cent receiving cash benefits.
India’s social protection coverage, thus, doubled from 24.4 per cent in 2021 to 48.8 per cent in 2024 as per the ILO’s World Social Protection Report (WSPR) 2024-26, which includes existing Central social protection schemes that hadn’t been considered earlier.
According to the Labour Ministry, India’s present social protection coverage assessment by the ILO at 48.8 per cent is still an underestimation, as it does not account for in-kind benefits provided to the citizens of the country, such as food security and housing benefits, and social protection schemes administered by the states. The actual social protection coverage of India is expected to be much higher after this data is taken into account, the Labour Ministry said.
In this context, the Ministry has been consistently following up with ILO Headquarters on this matter through a focussed high-level dialogue. In a bilateral discussion held between the Secretary (L&E) and the DG, ILO during the 353rd ILO Governing Body meeting in Geneva last week, the ILO shared that housing and food security are part of a set of extended indicators (based on United Nations-Sustainable Development Goals) adopted by them. Therefore, such schemes and related data will also be considered by the ILO.
The Ministry of Labour & Employment is actively collaborating with state governments and the ILO for a national social protection data pooling exercise to obtain a holistic picture of social protection coverage in India. Labour Departments of state governments are playing the nodal role in compilation of respective state-specific data and sharing the same with the Central government for further consolidation, verification and de-duplication, the official statement said.
The Ministry of Labour & Employment kick-started Phase 1 of India’s Social Protection Data Pooling Exercise on March 19, in a hybrid meeting organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment. For Phase 1, the Ministry has identified selected states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat, for data consolidation at the Central level.
This data pooling exercise will not only strengthen India’s global reputation as a social protection pioneer but also facilitate the Central government, states and UTs to optimise welfare spending and move closer towards sustainable financing of social protection. It will help the states in identifying unique beneficiaries under state-specific social protection schemes, according to the official statement.
The exercise will also reinforce India’s position in negotiating trade and social security agreements with other countries, and reflect India’s commitment to promoting decent work in global value chains, the statement added.
–IANS
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