12.06 lakh new members join in January: ESIC payroll data

Around 12.06 lakh new members joined ESIC-run social security schemes in January 2020 against 12.90 lakh in the previous month, according to the payroll data of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), providing an employment perspective in the formal sector.

Gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.49 crore during the entire 2018-19 financial year, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in a report 'Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective - January 2020' released on Wednesday.

The report also showed that during the September 2017-January 2020 period, around 3.62 crore new subscribers joined the ESIC scheme.

The NSO's report is based on the payroll data of new subscribers of various social security schemes run by ESIC, retirement fund body and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

 

It has been releasing the payroll data or new subscribers data of these three bodies since April 2018, covering a period starting from September 2017.

The report showed that gross new enrolments with the ESIC during the September 2017-March 2018 period were 83.35 lakh.

A net of 10.45 lakh new enrolments with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) were recorded in January 2020, compared with 9.12 lakh in December last year.

In 2018-19, 61.12 lakh new subscribers on a net basis joined the social security schemes run by EPFO. Similarly, the net new enrolments were 15.52 lakh during September 2017-March 2018.

The latest data showed that during September 2017-January 2020, around 3.20 crore new subscribers joined the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme.

It also showed that net of 69.35 new members joined the social security schemes run by the EPFO in April to January this fiscal, which is higher than 61.12 lakh in the entire fiscal of 2018-19.

However, the gross enrolments with the ESIC were 1.29 crore during April-January this fiscal.

The report said that since the number of subscribers is from various sources, there are elements of overlap and the estimates are not additive.

The NSO said the report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level.