{"id":36785,"date":"2025-02-04T19:10:53","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T13:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=36785"},"modified":"2025-08-07T12:20:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T06:50:25","slug":"health-insurance-cover-for-1-crore-gig-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/04-02-2025\/health-insurance-cover-for-1-crore-gig-workers","title":{"rendered":"Health Insurance Cover for 1 crore Gig Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Union Finance Minister has announced that<strong> gig workers <\/strong>would be eligible for <strong>healthcare facilities under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The total outlay for health in this year\u2019s budget has<strong> increased by over \u20b99,000 crore<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It will finance key programmes such as the mission to increase infrastructure, Ayushman Bharat, as well as allocation for All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Delhi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Jan Arogya Yojana<\/strong> provides a <strong>cover of Rs 5 lakh per beneficiary family <\/strong>per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization across public and private empanelled hospitals in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, the details on whether the families of gig workers will be covered or not are yet to be provided.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Data on Health Insurance in India (NITI Aayog)<\/strong><br>&#8211; Only around 10% of India\u2019s population have bought private health insurance, while nearly 60% are estimated to be covered by government-funded schemes.&nbsp;<br>&#8211; The remaining 30% \u2013 more than 400 million people \u2013 still lack any form of health insurance.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Who are Gig Workers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Non-standard or gig work consists of <strong>income-earning activities outside of standard, long-term employer-employee relationships.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It relies<strong> heavily on temporary and part-time positions<\/strong> filled by <strong>independent contractors and freelancers<\/strong> rather than full-time permanent employees.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The term is borrowed from the music world, where performers book <strong>&#8220;gigs&#8221;<\/strong> that are <strong>single or short-term engagements<\/strong> at various venues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The gig economy uses <strong>digital platforms <\/strong>to connect freelancers with customers to provide<strong> short-term services or asset-sharing<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Examples include <strong>ride-hailing apps, food delivery apps, and holiday rental apps.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India and Gig Economy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In 2020, 7.7 million workers were engaged in the gig economy.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The gig workforce is expected to<strong> expand to 23.5 million workers or 4.1% of total workforce by 2029-30.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At present about 47% of the gig work is in medium skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low skilled jobs.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Its contribution to India&#8217;s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be substantial, with the potential to<strong> add 1.25% to GDP by 2030, <\/strong>and <strong>create 90 million jobs in the long term.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reasons for a rise in Gig Workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Post Pandemic:<\/strong> The trend accelerated during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, as gig workers delivered necessities to <strong>home-bound consumers,<\/strong> and those whose <strong>jobs had been eliminated turned to part-time and contract work for income.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Freedom to work from anywhere:<\/strong> These types of positions facilitate independent contracting work, with many of them not requiring a freelancer to come into an office.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rise of Technology and Internet: <\/strong>Rise of fast internet and smartphones have made it easier to work from anywhere easily.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Convenient for Small Organisations:<\/strong> Employers who cannot afford to hire full-time employees to do all the work will often hire part-time or temporary employees to take care of busier times or specific projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Benefits Employers: <\/strong>Employers do not need to provide related benefits, such as medical insurance, Provident Fund, and year-end bonuses which make it a better option for them to pay only for work on a unit basis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Work-life balance:<\/strong> For some workers, the flexibility of working gigs can actually disrupt the work-life balance, sleep patterns, and activities of daily life.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Can replace Full time employees:<\/strong> The number of full-time employees required by the company can be reduced as freelance workers take over the work.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No regular job benefits:<\/strong> Many employers save money by avoiding paying benefits such as health coverage and paid vacation time.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is no formal employment relationship with the platform company and there are usually no employee benefits in short-term contracts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps Taken by Government of India for Gig Workers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Code of Social Security, 2020: <\/strong>The Government has formulated the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-05-2021\/social-security-code-2020\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-05-2021\/social-security-code-2020\">Code on Social Security, 2020 <\/a>which envisages framing of <strong>suitable social security schemes for gig workers and platform workers<\/strong> on matters relating to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, etc.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, these provisions under the Code have not come into force.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>e-Shram Portal:<\/strong> The Government has also launched e-Shram portal in 2021 for registration and creation of a<strong> Comprehensive National Database of Unorganized Workers including gig workers and platform workers.&nbsp;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It allows a person to register himself or herself on the portal on a self-declaration basis, which is spread across around 400 occupations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Not having the health coverage enjoyed by many people who are in traditional full-time employment, gig workers are particularly vulnerable to medical expenses. These costs can sometimes be catastrophic.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As they often lack job security and associated benefits of full-time employment, government-backed coverage could provide a crucial safety net.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/health-wellness\/union-budget-2025-health-insurance-cover-gig-workers-ayushman-bharat-9811994\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Union Finance Minister has announced that gig workers would be eligible for healthcare facilities under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36785"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50677,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36785\/revisions\/50677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}