Integration of E-Shram Portal With one nation one ration card scheme
Situation in Unorganized Sector:
- The Unorganized Workers Social Security Board was founded in 2008.
- The Unorganized Worker Identification Number was introduced in 2015.
- The bulk of migrant workers work in the private sector, and their participation would be good.
- The unorganised labour force is categorised into four categories by the Ministry of Labour and Employment:
Occupation:
- Small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, fisherman, animal husbandry, beedi producers, and so on are all examples of small and marginal farmers.
- Attached agricultural labourers, bonded agricultural employees, migrant workers, contract and casual labourers all fall within this category.
Category: Specially Distressed:
- Toddy tappers, scavengers, head load bearers, animal-powered vehicle drivers, loaders, and unloaders are just some of the jobs available.
Category of Service:
- Domestic workers, midwives, fishermen and women, barbers, vegetable and fruit dealers, newspaper vendors, and so on are all examples of people who work in the home.
- According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS 2018-19), the informal sector employed 90% of workers, or 419 million out of 465 million.
- Informal labourers in rural and urban areas have been hit the hardest by the virus due to the seasonal nature of their work and the lack of a formal employee-employer relationship.
About the ONORC Scheme:
ONORC stands for One Nation, One Ration Card.
- Food and economic stability are the main concerns of jobless migrants following the two devastating rounds of the Covid-19 outbreak.
- The Indian government implemented the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme to solve the issue of food security (ONORC). ONORC allows a ration card holder to access his food entitlements from anywhere in India.
- At all Fair Pricing Stores, beneficiaries will receive free rations in stages via e-PoS devices with biometric identification (FPS).
- Migrant beneficiaries with valid ration cards that have been recognised in their parent state under the National Food Security Act of 2013 (NFSA) will be eligible for free rations under this scheme.
The benefits of the One Nation, One Ration Card are as follows:
- Those who are active members of the ONORC will be able to buy subsidised food grain from any Fair Price Shop in the country, which will aid migrants from all over the country.
- The ONORC permits all ration card subscribers in one state to get the same fair rations in other states where the card was issued.
- A beneficiary can rapidly switch to another FPS if there is foul play.
- Because social identity is a requirement for receiving PDS, the scheme will benefit women and other marginalised groups.
- The ONORC, which ranks 102 out of 17 countries on the Global Hunger Index, will help to achieve the 2030 aim of eradicating hunger.
What is E-Shram Portal:
- For cyclical migrants and informal workers, a time-bound, universal, and inclusive registration system is needed.
- Construction workers, migrant workers, street sellers, and domestic employees are among the 38 million unorganised workers who will be registered.
- The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector (NCEUS) advocated registration, which was previously required by the Unorganized Workers’ Social Security Act.
E-Shram Portal’s Purpose:
- Creating a centralised database of all unorganised workers, including construction workers, migrant workers, gig and platform workers, street sellers, domestic workers, and agriculture workers, among others.
- To improve the efficiency with which unorganised employees’ social security benefits are delivered
- Social security and welfare payments should be transferable for migrant and construction employees.
- Providing the Central and State Governments with a comprehensive database in order to deal with future national disasters like COVID-19.
- It is straightforward to share information with a wide range of stakeholders, including central and state government ministries, departments, boards, agencies, and organisations.
ONORC and E-Shram Portal Linking Problem:
- The most important consideration is to ensure that the worker’s location does not preclude him or her from getting social security benefits.
- E-Shram will send all critical data to state governments in real time.
- The purpose of all of the initiatives, cards, and platforms was to count migrant and informal labour. However, as a result of such campaigns, nothing transpired in the name of employee social protection.
- Statutory legislation does not support it.
- The problem about e-Shram access is the digital divide.
Way-Forward:
- A comparison of location data with permanent address data on e-Shram is supposed to aid in the identification of migratory personnel within the organisation.
- The E-Shram system aims to provide a social register for workers in the unorganised sector. The first step is to register; after that, understanding how to reduce vulnerability through security is crucial. Industry plays an important role, and their involvement should be increased.
