India has formally constituted national social-security boards for unorganised workers and for gig and platform workers under the Code on Social Security, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said on 30 October.
The boards will be chaired by the Union labour minister and include representatives from the central and state governments, aggregator companies, employers, civil-society organisations, trade unions and gig-worker associations. They are required to meet at least three times a year.
The move creates a statutory forum for shaping welfare policy across a workforce that often sits outside employer-linked benefits. The boards can recommend schemes for different groups, advise the central government, monitor centrally administered welfare programmes and review state-level records and spending from the relevant funds.
Why it matters
For platform businesses, the board adds a formal policy channel through which benefit design, worker records and funding may be scrutinised. For workers, its value will depend on the speed and coverage of the schemes that follow: registration, portability between platforms and access to benefits remain the practical tests.
The notification establishes the governance mechanism; it does not by itself specify a universal benefit package or contribution rate. Those details will depend on subsequent schemes and implementation decisions.
Source: Ministry of Labour and Employment via Press Information Bureau.
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