Sat Feb 01 23:42:18 UTC 2025: ## Government to Register and Provide Healthcare to Gig Workers

**New Delhi, [Date]** – India’s Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a significant initiative in the Union Budget 2025 to formally recognize and support the nation’s growing gig workforce. The government will issue identity cards and register approximately 1 crore (10 million) gig workers on the e-Shram portal, granting them access to welfare schemes including the PM Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) healthcare program.

This move aims to address the needs of the rapidly expanding gig economy, projected by NITI Aayog to employ over 23 million people by 2030. The government will also launch a social security scheme for online platform workers, implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) model. States will be encouraged to adopt this model, with support available from the India Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IIPDF).

The announcement has been met with mixed reactions. While the government highlights the initiative as a step towards inclusivity and social security for gig workers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticized the budget as insufficient to address the country’s economic challenges, describing it as “a band-aid for bullet wounds.” The Congress party previously criticized the budget for failing to address issues like stagnant wages and a complex GST system. The 2024-25 Economic Survey projects India’s economy to grow between 6.3 percent and 6.8 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

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