New Delhi: The labour ministry is considering a multi-manager model for the proposed social security scheme for gig and platform workers, anticipating that its programme could outgrow the capacity of a single fund manager.
One possibility under consideration is roping in the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the ministry to handle provident fund contribution and disbursement, while outsourcing pension to another fund manager.
"The management of the social security scheme for gig and platform workers and the unorganised workers is yet to be decided as the ministry is weighing all options before it parks the comprehensive scheme with one or more fund managers," a senior government official told ET.
According to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, while the EPFO is expected to get a big chunk of the scheme, the possibility of other players managing some parts of it is not ruled out.
Life Insurance Corporation of India is already managing the ministry's Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme, which is a voluntary, contributory pension scheme for unorganised sector workers aged 18-40 years.
Under this scheme, street vendors, home-based workers, landless labourers and washermen, among others, who earn up to ₹15,000 per month are entitled to a minimum assured monthly pension of ₹3,000 after age 60, with 50:50 contributions from the subscriber and the Centre.
To run the programme for gig and platform workers, the labour ministry will soon notify a social security fund, to be set up with contributions from the Centre, states, aggregators, gig workers and the corporate social responsibility fund of establishments.
The EPFO has upgraded its digital infrastructure by transitioning to CITES 2.01 (a centralised IT-enabled system) while simultaneously adding manpower and enhancing physical infrastructure to handle the large number of beneficiaries that are expected to enter into it under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana and the social security scheme for gig workers.
A 2022 Niti Aayog report had projected the number of gig and platform workers in the country at 23.5 million by 2029-30, three times higher than 7.7 million in 2020-21.
One possibility under consideration is roping in the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) under the ministry to handle provident fund contribution and disbursement, while outsourcing pension to another fund manager.
"The management of the social security scheme for gig and platform workers and the unorganised workers is yet to be decided as the ministry is weighing all options before it parks the comprehensive scheme with one or more fund managers," a senior government official told ET.
Life Insurance Corporation of India is already managing the ministry's Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan scheme, which is a voluntary, contributory pension scheme for unorganised sector workers aged 18-40 years.
Under this scheme, street vendors, home-based workers, landless labourers and washermen, among others, who earn up to ₹15,000 per month are entitled to a minimum assured monthly pension of ₹3,000 after age 60, with 50:50 contributions from the subscriber and the Centre.
To run the programme for gig and platform workers, the labour ministry will soon notify a social security fund, to be set up with contributions from the Centre, states, aggregators, gig workers and the corporate social responsibility fund of establishments.
The EPFO has upgraded its digital infrastructure by transitioning to CITES 2.01 (a centralised IT-enabled system) while simultaneously adding manpower and enhancing physical infrastructure to handle the large number of beneficiaries that are expected to enter into it under the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Rojgar Yojana and the social security scheme for gig workers.
A 2022 Niti Aayog report had projected the number of gig and platform workers in the country at 23.5 million by 2029-30, three times higher than 7.7 million in 2020-21.
