Industry bodies eye access to the e-shram portal to fill talent gap

Industry bodies are keen on getting access to the e-Shram portal, which is a repository of data of nearly 300 million unorganised sector workers. They believe access to this diverse skilled talent pool will help them fulfil their workforce requirements.

“Industry has asked for access to the e-Shram database which will help us enable skilling and employability of the unorganised workforce in the country,” the industry body Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) told Business Standard.

Echoing similar views, Sanjeev Agarwal, president, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), says that apart from access to a diverse talent pool, access to the worker database will lead to more compliance and accountability and can help ensure that workers are legally employed, aiding industries in compliance with labour laws and regulations.

“This will also serve as a better communication platform, making it easier for industries to relay information to workers and vice versa. Formalising the employment process through the portal could pave the way for workers to access social security benefits, such as provident fund and health insurance as well as retirement plans. Additionally, the portal can empower informal workers by providing them with a platform where their skills and contributions are recognised and valued,” he added.

However, a senior official from the labour ministry told Business Standard that currently the e-Shram portal data is being mapped and integrated with other government databases like the National Career Services (NCS) portal for jobs, UDYAM portal for small businesses, and ASEEM portal for skilled workers.

“Private companies that have partnered with the government on the development of these portals can access data for their hirings mainly through these portals,” the official added.

Labour economist KR Shyam Sundar says that the portal came into existence in the aftermath of the migrant labour crisis during the Covid pandemic-induced lockdown, as the government found it difficult to provide any relief to them in the absence of any consolidated database of the workers in the country.

“Currently the workers registered on the e-Shram portal don't get any welfare measure. Earlier, e-Shram cardholders were entitled to get an accidental insurance benefit, but that ended sometime back. This huge database should be effectively used now by the government to provide targeted welfare measures to the registered workers,” he added.

The Labour ministry had launched the e-Shram portal in August 2021 after the Supreme Court directed it to create a pan-national database of an estimated 380 million unorganised workers comprising both the skilled and unskilled workers that included agricultural workers, domestic workers, construction workers, gig and platform workers etc.

Till January 9, more than 292 million people have registered on the portal in over 400 occupations, with agriculture leading (~153 million) the way, latest data sourced from the portal shows.