Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav has on Thursday launched the e-Shram portal and it has been handed it over to the states/UTs for registration of unorganised workers across the country. The government aims to register 38 crore unorganised workers such as construction labourers, migrant workforce, street vendors, and domestic workers, among others. “For the first time in the history of India, a system is being made to register 38 crore unorganised workers. It will not only register them but would also be helpful in delivering various social security schemes being implemented by the Central and state governments,” Yadav said.

The workers will be issued an e-Shram card containing a 12 digit unique number, which going ahead will help in inclusion of these workers in social security schemes, officials said. “More than 38 crore unorganised workers in the country will be registered under one portal and the registration under e-SHRAM is totally free and workers do not have to pay anything for his or her registration at Common Service Centres (CSCs) or anywhere,” Labour Secretary Apurva Chandra said. “… upon registration, workers shall be issued an e-SHRAM card with a unique universal account number and will be able to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this card anywhere anytime,” he said.

The government had earlier missed deadlines for creating the database, inviting criticism from the Supreme Court. A worker can register on the portal using his/her Aadhaar card number and bank account details, apart from filling other necessary details like date of birth, home town, mobile number, and social category. Detailed guidelines for operationalisation of the portal and mobilisation of workers have already been issued to the states/Union Territories, the Labour Ministry said.