Thirty-year-old Shiv Kumar, a gig worker with a quick-commerce platform that delivers groceries, vegetables, and other daily essentials, has been struggling to repay the loan he took to meet the expenses of his child’s delivery. He still owes ₹50,000 to a friend. Like many gig workers, Kumar has not been provided health insurance coverage under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, despite the Union Budget 2025–26 announcing such a benefit. Although he registered on the e-Shram portal, he is yet to receive any health coverage.“With my salary of Rs 30,000, how can I think of buying insurance from a private company? If the government gives us something, it will be helpful,” he said.More than a year after the Budget 2025-26 promised health insurance under Ayushman Bharat for one crore gig and platform workers, the scheme is yet to be rolled out. While the Centre has begun registering workers on the e-Shram portal and says implementation is underway, gig workers have not started receiving healthcare benefits under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).Presenting the Union Budget in February 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that one crore gig workers would be brought under the Ayushman Bharat scheme. However, despite the announcement and subsequent registration drives, the government has not specified a timeline for extending the promised health coverage.According to Dharamendra Kumar, Founding Secretary of Jan Pahal, an organisation that advocates for gig workers, discussions have taken place with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on extending provident fund benefits to gig workers and with the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) on linking workers to pension schemes. However, he said there has been no policy-level discussion on implementing Ayushman Bharat coverage for the sector.“Data of more than 10 lakh gig workers has already been collected through the e-Shram portal, but there has been no policy movement on Ayushman Bharat after that,” Kumar said.1.2 crore gig workersAccording to the Economic Survey 2025-26, India has around 1.2 crore (120 lakh) gig workers. The survey noted that the gig economy, including delivery services, ride-hailing and freelancing, has witnessed rapid structural growth, transforming informal employment into more organised, platform-driven work.The number of gig workers has increased by 55 per cent from 77 lakh in FY21 to 1.2 crore in FY25, driven by smartphone penetration of over 80 crore users and nearly 15 billion UPI transactions every month. The sector now accounts for more than 2 per cent of India’s workforce, with growth outpacing overall employment. Non-agricultural gig work is projected to make up 6.7 per cent of the workforce by 2029-30, contributing an estimated Rs 2.35 lakh crore to the country’s GDP, the Survey said.Government sources said that under the Code on Social Security, state-level social security boards will be constituted to decide the implementation of welfare measures, including Ayushman Bharat coverage for gig workers. However, they acknowledged that no concrete discussions have yet taken place on rolling out the health insurance scheme despite the budget announcement.In a recent reply to a starred question by BJP MP PC Mohan in the Lok Sabha, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said health coverage under AB-PMJAY for gig and platform workers would be delivered through the e-Shram portal. As of July 14, 2026, more than 10.65 lakh platform workers had registered on the portal.The Minister said the Union Budget 2025-26 had announced registration of platform workers on the e-Shram portal, issuance of identity cards and extension of healthcare benefits under AB-PMJAY. However, he did not provide a timeline for the rollout of the health insurance scheme.According to the government, the e-Shram portal has been developed as a one-stop platform by integrating multiple social security and welfare schemes. Registered workers, including gig and platform workers, will be able to access welfare benefits, including AB-PMJAY, and track benefits received through the portal.To facilitate enrolment, the government launched a dedicated Aggregator Module on December 12, 2024, enabling digital platforms to onboard workers onto the e-Shram portal. So far, 21 aggregators, including Zomato, Blinkit, Swiggy, Ola, Uber, Rapido, Amazon, Porter, Urban Company and Flipkart, have joined the platform. APIs have also been developed to enable worker verification and electronic sharing of worker data by aggregators.A simplified registration module for platform workers was introduced on March 12, 2025, allowing workers to self-register or update their occupation if they were already enrolled on e-Shram. The Labour Ministry also conducted nationwide registration drives in April, May and August-September 2025 in collaboration with states and Union Territories to increase enrolment.The government’s reply comes after the Code on Social Security, 2020, came into force on November 21, 2025, formally recognising gig and platform workers for the first time under Indian law. The Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026, notified on May 8, operationalised these provisions by mandating worker registration, requiring aggregators to share worker data electronically and prescribing eligibility criteria for social security benefits.The Centre said it has held multiple rounds of consultations with aggregators, worker associations, state governments and other stakeholders to develop a comprehensive social security framework for gig and platform workers, including implementation of welfare schemes under the Code.Published on July 27, 2026