Gig and platform workers, who find work through digital platforms, now have a formal seat in India's social security system after the Centre notified a national board to design and monitor welfare schemes for them and for the wider unorganised workforce.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified the constitution of the National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and Gig & Platform Workers under the Code on Social Security, one of the new Labour Codes. The ministry describes the move as the first time digital gig and platform workers are being brought into the country's formal welfare architecture.
Who sits on the board
The board will be chaired by the Union Minister for Labour and Employment. Its members will include representatives of the Central and state governments, aggregator companies, employers, civil society organisations, workers' unions and gig and platform workers' associations.
It must meet at least three times a year and follow rules of procedure prescribed by the Central government.
What it will do
According to the notification, the board will:
- recommend suitable schemes to the Centre for different sections of unorganised, gig and platform workers;
- advise the Centre on matters arising from the administration of the Code that are referred to it;
- monitor central welfare schemes for these workers;
- review record-keeping done at the state level;
- review spending from the fund and its accounts; and
- take up any other work assigned by the Centre.
Why it matters
The ministry said the boards are mandated "to design, monitor, and recommend targeted welfare schemes to bridge the social security gap" for millions of gig and platform workers alongside traditional unorganised workers.
What we don't know yet
The release does not name the members of the board, give a date for its first meeting or say which schemes it will take up first. Those details will matter most to the workers it is meant to cover.
Source: official release by the Ministry of Labour & Employment, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (30 OCT 2026 10:29AM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Government notifies National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and Gig & Platform Workers under the Labour Codes.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2330299) issued by the Ministry of Labour & Employment on 30 OCT 2026 10:29AM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Government notifies National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and Gig & Platform Workers under the Labour Codes — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
