PMJAY to cover Gig Workers

Syllabus- Economy [GS Paper-3]

05/02/2025

215 3 minutes read

Context

The Union Finance Minister has introduced that gig workers might be eligible for healthcare centers under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme.

About

The total outlay for health in this year’s budget has increased by over ₹9,000 crore.
It will finance key programmes along with the undertaking to growth infrastructure, Ayushman Bharat, as well as allocation for All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Delhi.
The Jan Arogya Yojana provides a cover of Rs 5 lakh in step with beneficiary families per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.
However, the details on whether the families of gig people can be protected or not are yet to be supplied.

Data on Health Insurance in India (NITI Aayog)

Only around 10% of India’s population have bought private medical health insurance, whilst nearly 60% are estimated to be covered by government-funded schemes.
The ultimate 30% – more than 400 million people – still lack any form of medical insurance.

About Gig Workers

Non-fashionable or gig work consists of income-earning activities outside of popular, long-term employer-employee relationships.
It is predicated closely on temporary and part-time positions filled by unbiased contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent workers.
The term is borrowed from the track world, wherein performers e-book “gigs” which might be single or quick-term engagements at diverse venues.
The gig economic system uses digital structures to connect freelancers with clients to provide quick-term services or asset-sharing.
- Examples encompass trip-hailing apps, food transport apps, and vacation condo apps.

India and Gig Economy

In 2020, 7.7 million workers had been engaged inside the gig economic system.
The gig team of workers is predicted to increase to 23.5 million workers or 4.1% of total workforce by 2029-30.
At present about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low professional jobs.
Its contribution to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to be big, with the capacity to contribute 1.25% to GDP by 2030, and create 90 million jobs within the long term.

Reasons for a rise in Gig Workers

Post Pandemic: The trend multiplied during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as gig workers brought requirements to domestic-bound customers, and people whose jobs had been removed turned to part-time and contract work for income.
Freedom to work from everywhere: These kinds of positions facilitate unbiased contracting work, with lots of them not requiring a freelancer to come back into an office.
Rise of Technology and Internet: Rise of fast net and smartphones have made it simpler to work from everywhere easily.
Convenient for Small Organisations: Employers who can’t afford to rent full-time workers to do all of the work will regularly rent part-time or transient workers to take care of busier times or particular initiatives.
Benefits Employers: Employers do not need to offer related advantages, such as medical health insurance, Provident Fund, and yr-stop bonuses which make it a higher choice for them to pay only for work on a unit foundation.

Challenges

Work-existence balance: For a few workers, the flexibility of running gigs can really disrupt the work-life balance, sleep patterns, and activities of daily life.
Can replace Full time personnel: The number of full-time workers required by the agency can be reduced as freelance people take over the work.
No everyday activity advantages: Many employers save cash by avoiding paying benefits including health insurance and paid vacation time.
- There isn’t any formal employment courting with the platform employer and there are normally no employee advantages in short-term contracts.

Steps Taken with the aid of Government of India for Gig Workers

Code of Social Security, 2020: The Government has formulated the Code on Social Security, 2020 which envisages framing of suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers on topics relating to lifestyles and incapacity cover, twist of fate insurance, health and maternity blessings, old age protection, and many others.
- However, those provisions under the Code have not come into force.
E-Shram Portal: The Government has also released e-Shram portal in 2021 for registration and advent of a Comprehensive National Database of Unorganized Workers along with gig workers and platform workers.
- It lets a person register himself or herself at the portal on a self-statement foundation that unfolds throughout around 400 occupations.

Conclusion

Not having the health insurance loved by many of those who are in conventional full-time employment, gig workers are especially liable to scientific charges. These charges can every now and then be catastrophic.
As they frequently lack activity protection and related advantages of full-time employment, authorities-sponsored insurance ought to provide a critical safety net.

Source: The Indian Express