By Shailesh Yadav

New Delhi [India], March 25 (ANI): Gig workers and their families will be covered under Ayushman Bharat and will get health coverage of Rs 5 lakh. Preparations to provide the benefits of Ayushman Bharat to gig and platform workers are almost complete, Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Labour and Employment Ministry, told ANI in an exclusive interview.

India's gig and platform economy is expanding, offering new jobs in sectors like ridesharing, delivery, logistics, and professional services.

NITI Aayog has projected that the gig economy in India will employ over one crore workers in 2024-25, subsequently reaching 2.35 crore by 2029-30.

Recognizing the contribution of the gig and platform workers to the nation's economy, Union Budget 2025-26 announcements had provision for registration of online platform workers on e-Shram portal, issue of identity cards, and and healthcare coverage under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Dawra said schemes for gig and platform workers will be started soon.

'We have to cover them in health insurance. The government will bear the entire expense for the gig workers under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY),' she said, adding that the scheme is expected to be implemented soon.

She said the government is working on options for providing social security benefits to platform workers across the country and work on evolving a comprehensive framework is almost complete.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, had in the Union Budget, announced a social security scheme for one crore gig workers engaged with online platforms. Government will provide them identity cards and facilitate their registration on the e-Shram portal. The move will help these platform workers get benefits of social welfare schemes run by various government agencies.

As per the Social Security Code 2020, a gig worker means a person who performs work or participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of the traditional employer-employee relationship. These include persons engaged with online platforms like Uber, Ola, Swiggy, and Zomato, among others. (ANI)