BharatNotes What is e-Shram Portal?
The e-Shram Portal (eshram.gov.in) is a national digital platform launched by the Ministry of Labour and Employment on 26 August 2021 to create a comprehensive, Aadhaar-seeded National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW). It registers unorganised workers and issues each a 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN) valid across India, on a self-declaration basis, free of cost. Registration is open to citizens aged 16-59 (e-Shram Card 2.0) who work in the unorganised sector — spanning roughly 400 occupations across 30 broad sectors, including construction, gig and platform work, migrant labour, domestic work and agriculture.
Why was it created?
India's unorganised workforce historically lacked a unified identity record, leaving most workers outside structured social-security delivery. e-Shram aims to close this gap by building a single, verified database that links workers to welfare and social-security schemes, supports targeted policy and Direct Benefit Transfer, and improves portability of benefits for migrant workers. It is positioned as one of the world's largest databases of informal-sector workers.
Key features and integrations
The portal has steadily added functionality to function as a genuine one-stop solution.
| Feature / milestone | Detail | As-of date |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | NDUW created; UAN issued on self-declaration | 26 Aug 2021 |
| Aggregator module | Onboarding of platform aggregators and their gig workers (e.g. Zomato, Swiggy, Uber, Ola, Blinkit, Zepto, Urban Company, Rapido, Amazon, Porter) | Launched 12 Dec 2024 |
| One-Stop-Solution | Integration of multiple central welfare schemes at a single portal | 21 Oct 2024 |
| Multilingual access | Available in 22 Indian languages via the Bhashini platform | 7 Jan 2025 |
| State/UT microsites | Dedicated microsites for States/UTs to address local needs | 29 Jan 2025 |
e-Shram is integrated with the National Career Service (NCS) for job search, Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) pension, Skill India Digital, and the myScheme platform for scheme discovery.
Current status
As of 27 November 2025, over 31.38 crore unorganised workers had registered on e-Shram (stated by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment in Rajya Sabha). Earlier markers include over 30.68 crore by 3 March 2025 — with women constituting about 53.68% of registrations — and over 30.98 crore by 5 August 2025. The Union Budget 2025-26 announced registration of online platform workers on e-Shram, issue of identity cards, and healthcare coverage under AB-PMJAY (cover of ₹5 lakh per family per year).
UPSC angle
For GS3, link e-Shram to the formalisation of the informal economy, social security for gig and platform workers (a fast-rising theme), and scheme-delivery architecture. For GS2, note the governance and DBT dimension. The likely test points are the administering ministry, the 2021 launch, the UAN/Aadhaar mechanism, and scheme linkages (PM-SYM, AB-PMJAY). This is a foundation concept — no direct PYQ — but it underpins questions on labour reforms and inclusive growth.
