In India, the government has set a huge undertaking: to register 380 million informal workers on a new database, so that it could allow the delivery of social security payments. This database, called e-Shram, was launched in August 2021.
But, of course, this initiative was followed by a range of doubts, problems and barriers that has been hindering the implementation of this social registry system.
To help us better understand the e-Shram – the promises, shortcomings, challenges, and most importantly, the Indian context – we invited Avi Majithia.
Avi is WIEGO’s Delhi Focal City coordinator and holds a master’s degree in Regulatory Governance from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (in Mumbai, India), and works closely with informal worker’s organizations in Delhi.

*Our theme music is Focus from AA Aalto (Creative Commons)

References

e-Shram official website: https://eshram.gov.in/

Article 14: "The Incomplete Project Of E-Shram, India’s Database Of Unorganised Workers" https://www.article-14.com/post/the-incomplete-project-of-e-shram-india-s-database-of-unorganised-workers-620dc42806e13

Scroll.In: "e-Shram: All you need to know about India’s first centralised database for unorganised workers" https://scroll.in/article/1004199/e-shram-all-you-need-to-know-about-indias-first-centralised-database-for-unorganised-workers

India Spend: "No Documents, No Benefits: How India’s Invisible Workforce Is Left To Fend For Itself" https://www.indiaspend.com/no-documents-no-benefits-how-indias-invisible-workforce-is-left-to-fend-for-itself/

The New Leam: "Lack of Documents and Registration Deprive India’s Migrant Class of State Offered Benefits & Welfare Schemes" https://www.thenewleam.com/2020/12/lack-of-documents-and-registration-deprive-indias-migrant-class-of-state-offered-benefits-welfare-schemes/

Hindustan Times: "Documenting the story of India’s migrant distress" https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/documenting-the-story-of-india-s-migrant-distress/story-sVC8sCHFetXYBPKLa1OhZM.html

WIEGO Delhi Focal City webpage: https://www.wiego.org/delhi