🗞️ Why in News The Ministry of Labour & Employment has notified the constitution of the National Social Security Board for Unorganised Workers and Gig & Platform Workers under the Code on Social Security, 2020, the Press Information Bureau announced on 30 October 2026. Presided over by the Union Minister for Labour & Employment, the Board is to recommend and monitor welfare schemes for unorganised, gig and platform workers, and must meet at least thrice a year.
The Code on Social Security (Act No. 36 of 2020) was enacted in 2020 and has been in force since 21 November 2025, and it has always provided for this Board. The notification now constitutes it. Its powers are advisory: it recommends and monitors schemes, while the Central Government frames them. Three things make it exam material: how one Board takes two shapes, how the Code plans to pay for gig-worker welfare, and how far the registration base has come.
What the Notification Says
The release says the Board will be presided over by the Union Minister for Labour & Employment and “comprise representatives from Central and State Governments, prominent aggregator companies, employers, civil society organizations, workers’ unions and gig & platform Associations.” It gives no member count, no names and no term of office.
In its own words, the Board is “mandated to design, monitor, and recommend targeted welfare schemes to bridge the social security gap for millions of gig & platform workers alongside traditional unorganised workers.” The Code’s list of functions, which the release reproduces, is narrower on the first point: the Board recommends to the Central Government “for framing suitable schemes”; the framing is the Centre’s.
| Clause | Function, as the release lists it (section 6(7) of the Code) |
|---|---|
| (a) | recommend to the Central Government for framing suitable schemes for different sections of unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers |
| (b) | advise the Central Government on such matters arising out of the administration of this Code as may be referred to it |
| (c) | monitor such social welfare schemes for unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers as are administered by the Central Government |
| (d) | review the record keeping functions performed at the State level |
| (e) | review the expenditure from the fund and account |
| (f) | undertake other functions as are assigned to it by the Central Government from time to time |
The Board “shall meet at least thrice a year” and follow rules of procedure prescribed by the Central Government. Under section 6(5) of the Code, its term is three years.
The release speaks of “the Boards” in places but names one national body. The Code separately requires every State Government to notify a State Board, the “(name of the State) Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Board” (section 6(9)); the release does not deal with those.
One Board, Two Compositions: Sections 6 and 114(6)
Section 6(1) says: “The Central Government shall, by notification, constitute a National Social Security Board for unorganised workers”. Section 114(6) then makes the same Board “the Board for the purposes of the welfare of gig workers and platform workers”, with a proviso: when it deals with gig and platform workers, a different set of members takes the place of those in clauses (c) and (d) of section 6(2). The chairperson and vice-chairperson, in clauses (a) and (b), stay. This is why the release lists aggregator companies and gig and platform associations among the members.
| For unorganised workers (section 6(2)) | For gig and platform workers (proviso to section 114(6)) | |
|---|---|---|
| Chairperson | Union Minister for Labour and Employment | Same (clause (a) is not replaced) |
| Vice-Chairperson | Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment | Same (clause (b) is not replaced) |
| Members | 40 nominated by the Centre: 7 unorganised sector workers; 7 employers of the unorganised sector; 7 eminent persons from civil society; 2 from the Lok Sabha and 1 from the Rajya Sabha; 10 from Central Ministries and Departments; 5 from State Governments; 1 for the Union territories | 5 representatives of aggregators; 5 representatives of gig and platform workers; the Director General of the Corporation; the Central Provident Fund Commissioner of the Central Board; expert members the Centre considers appropriate; 5 representatives of State Governments, by rotation |
| Member-Secretary | Director General Labour Welfare, ex officio | Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment |
These are the numbers the Code provides. The release does not say how many members the notified Board has or who they are.
From Recommendation to Benefit: Schemes and the Fund
National Social Security Board: from recommendation to benefit
How the Code on Social Security, 2020 links the Board, the schemes, the Social Security Fund and registered workers.
Schemes. Section 114(1) lists what schemes for gig and platform workers may cover: “(a) life and disability cover; (b) accident insurance; (c) health and maternity benefits; (d) old age protection; (e) crèche; and (f) any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government.” The Board’s job is to recommend such schemes and monitor them; benefits under them reach workers who are registered. Section 113 requires every unorganised, gig or platform worker to be registered, subject to having completed sixteen years of age (or an age that may be prescribed) and having submitted a self-declaration, electronically or otherwise.
The fund. Section 141(1) provides that “There shall be established by the Central Government a Social Security Fund for social security and welfare of the unorganised workers, gig workers and platform workers”.
The aggregator contribution. Section 114(4) reads: “The contribution to be paid by the aggregators for the funding referred to in clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 141, shall be at such rate not exceeding two per cent., but not less than one per cent., as may be notified by the Central Government, of the annual turnover of every such aggregator who falls within a category of aggregators, as are specified in the Seventh Schedule: Provided that the contribution by an aggregator shall not exceed five per cent. of the amount paid or payable by an aggregator to gig workers and platform workers.” Section 114(5) adds: “The date of commencement of contribution from aggregator under this section shall be notified by the Central Government.” The Code itself fixes only the band and the cap; the exact rate and the start date are left to notification by the Centre.
The Seventh Schedule (“Classification of Aggregators”) names nine categories:
| # | Category of aggregator |
|---|---|
| 1 | Ride sharing services |
| 2 | Food and grocery delivery services |
| 3 | Logistic services |
| 4 | e-Market place (both market place and inventory model) for wholesale or retail sale of goods and services (B2B and B2C) |
| 5 | Professional services provider |
| 6 | Healthcare |
| 7 | Travel and hospitality |
| 8 | Content and media services |
| 9 | Any other goods and services provider platform |
When the Codes took effect, the government’s release said that “‘Gig work’, ‘Platform work’, and ‘Aggregators’ have been defined for the first time.”
e-Shram: The Registration Base
Since its launch in 2021, e-Shram has been the national database of unorganised workers, “including platform workers, migrant workers etc.” in the Ministry’s words. The PIB backgrounder marking its five years gives two figures with different reference points:
- 31.89 crore registrations on the portal, as on 18 August 2026;
- around 11.5 lakh platform workers registered, as of 25 August 2026, the backgrounder’s own date.
So platform workers are a small fraction of the registrations so far. The same government that runs the Board also claims a wider gain: in its release on the four Codes it said social-security coverage rose “from about 19% of the workforce in 2015 to more than 64% in 2025”. That is a government figure, not an independent estimate.
Better counting is also on the way: the National Statistics Office’s proposed redesign of the Periodic Labour Force Survey adds a separate stratum for digital platform workers (see our 23 October roundup).
Background: From the Labour Commission to Four Codes
The Code’s Statement of Objects and Reasons opens with the Second National Commission on Labour, “which submitted its report in June, 2002”, and which “had recommended that the existing set of labour laws should be broadly amalgamated” into groups. The same statement notes that the Bill defines terms such as “aggregator”, “gig worker” and “platform worker”. For the wider debate on the codes, see our editorials Calibrating Inbound Investment and The Myth of ‘Unskilled’ Labour, and on earlier efforts to widen ESIC and EPFO coverage, our January 2026 piece.
Mains Lens: An Advisory Board in an Unfinished Architecture
Recognition. The Code brings people who work outside the employer-employee relationship into a statutory social security frame, and the Board puts aggregators, gig and platform workers and State Governments at one table when their matters come up (five seats each under section 114(6)).
Advice, not delivery. Every function in section 6(7) is to recommend, advise, monitor or review. The Board’s worth will show only in what the Centre does with its recommendations, since the schemes are the Centre’s to frame.
Money. Gig-worker welfare under the Code rests on the Social Security Fund and the aggregator contribution, whose exact rate and start date are for the Centre to notify. The design ties the levy to turnover but caps it by what the aggregator pays its workers, a balance between funding and the cost to platforms that the notified rate will have to strike.
Reach. Only registered workers can benefit, and around 11.5 lakh platform workers had registered on e-Shram in the August 2026 count. Registration drives will decide how far the Board’s schemes travel.
Federal design. States have five rotating seats when the Board serves gig and platform workers, and each State must notify its own Board for unorganised workers under section 6(9). Coordination between the two levels matters because the Board also reviews record keeping at the State level.
What comes next. The steps to watch are the notification of the aggregator contribution rate and its commencement date under section 114(4) and (5), the first schemes the Centre frames under section 114(1) on the Board’s advice, the Board’s meetings (at least three a year), and the State Boards under section 6(9).
UPSC Relevance
GS Paper 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for their protection; statutory bodies.
GS Paper 3: Indian economy and issues relating to employment; the gig economy and the informal sector.
Prelims: The Code on Social Security, 2020 (definitions of gig worker, platform worker, aggregator); the National Social Security Board (sections 6 and 114(6)); the aggregator contribution band and cap (section 114(4)); the Social Security Fund (section 141); the Seventh Schedule categories; e-Shram.
Mains: “The Code on Social Security, 2020 brings gig and platform workers into a statutory social security frame. Examine the role of the National Social Security Board and the challenges in funding and delivering benefits to these workers.” (GS2, 250 words)
📌 Facts Corner, Knowledgepedia
Prelims, statement-ready facts:
- NSSB for Unorganised Workers and Gig & Platform Workers: notified under the Code on Social Security, 2020; announced by PIB on 30 October 2026
- Chair: Union Minister for Labour and Employment; Vice-Chairperson: Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment
- Section 6(1): the Centre constitutes the National Social Security Board for unorganised workers by notification
- Section 6(5) and 6(6): the Board’s term is three years, and it meets at least thrice a year
- Section 6(2): 40 nominated members for unorganised workers, including 2 from the Lok Sabha and 1 from the Rajya Sabha
- Section 114(6): the same Board serves gig and platform workers, with 5 aggregator and 5 gig and platform worker representatives
- Section 114(4): aggregator contribution of 1 to 2% of annual turnover, at a rate to be notified, capped at 5% of payments to gig and platform workers
- Section 141(1): a Social Security Fund for unorganised, gig and platform workers, established by the Central Government
- Section 113: registration needs age 16 (or as prescribed) and a self-declaration
- Code on Social Security: Act No. 36 of 2020; made effective from 21 November 2025 with the other three Labour Codes
- e-Shram: launched 26 August 2021; 31.89 crore registrations as on 18 August 2026
Prelims, the traps:
- The Board recommends schemes (section 6(7)(a)); the Central Government frames them. The Board does not run or fund schemes itself
- The 1 to 2% band is on the aggregator’s annual turnover; the 5% cap is on the amount paid or payable to gig and platform workers
- Member-Secretary: Director General Labour Welfare for unorganised workers; a Joint Secretary, Labour Ministry, for gig and platform workers
- Gig worker (section 2(35)) and platform worker (section 2(61)) are defined separately; platform work runs through an online platform
- National Board under section 6(1); each State Government notifies its own State Board under section 6(9)
Mains, arguments and keywords:
- Statutory cover for work outside the employer-employee relationship; aggregators and workers share one Board for gig matters
- Keywords: social security gap, aggregator contribution, Social Security Fund, self-declaration, e-Shram, Seventh Schedule, cooperative federalism
Interview, be ready for:
- “Should platforms pay for workers who are not their employees?” The Code says yes, through a turnover-based contribution capped at 5% of payouts.
Sources: Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Labour & Employment), release on the National Social Security Board, 30 October 2026 (Release ID 2330299). The Code on Social Security, 2020 (Act No. 36 of 2020), India Code text, updated to November 2025, with its Statement of Objects and Reasons. PIB, release on the four Labour Codes (November 2025). PIB Backgrounder, “5 Years of e-Shram Portal” (August 2026). PIB, release on the implementation of the e-Shram portal (August 2026).
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