Social security protection now covers 48% of Indians

THE DATA-POOLING EXERCISE BY THE LABOUR MINISTRY AND ILO SHOWED ABOUT 920 MN PEOPLE COVERED UNDER ONE SOCIAL PROTECTION BENEFIT

- Zia Haq

NEW DELHI: New estimates by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) put India's total social-security coverage at 48.8%, compared to 24% earlier, a revision based on updated data provided by the Union government about welfare schemes for workers in the formal sector, including their families, Union labour minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Tuesday.

The labour ministry had carried out a "data-pooling exercise" in collaboration with the UN agency for a comprehensive assessment of all social schemes available to organised-sector workers, many of which were not being captured in international evaluations since they are scattered and some are implemented by states, the minister said.