Women now account for more than half of all subscribers under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) scheme, holding a 53.1 per cent share of the total enrolment of 54 lakh beneficiaries to secure a monthly pension of ₹3,000, as per information provided by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in parliament on Monday.As on July 29, 2026, more than 54 lakh beneficiaries have voluntarily enrolled under the PM-SYM scheme available for workers in informal sector across the country, Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.The participation of women unorganised workers in this scheme is 53.1 per cent which works out to 28.674 lakh, while the remaining 25.326 lakh are men. This shows women are driving the momentum to expand the old-age financial security outreach among unorganised workers nationwide.The 50 percent matching contribution of the government under the PM-SYM Scheme across the country is ₹2,011.01 crore, the Minister stated. Pension to the beneficiaries will start after attaining the age of 60 years. Since the scheme was launched in February, 2019, the disbursement of pension will start not before February, 2039, she informed the Lower House.The workers in the age group of 18 to 40 years whose monthly income is ₹15,000 per month or less than that, and not a member of Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO)/Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC)/National Pension System (NPS) (Contributed by Central Govt.) or not an income tax assessee are eligible to join the scheme, the Minister stated.The monthly contribution amount ranges from ₹55 per month to ₹200 per month, depending upon the entry age of the beneficiary. Under the scheme, 50 per cent monthly contribution is payable by the beneficiary and equal matching contribution is paid by the Central Government. Enrolment in the Scheme is done through the Common Service Centres, with its network of about 4 lakh Centres across the country. Eligible unorganised workers can also self-enrol through visiting the portal www.maandhan.in.Under the PM-SYM Scheme, subscriber accounts may become inactive primarily due to non-payment of the prescribed monthly contribution, which may occur on account of insufficient balance in the subscriber’s bank account, change or closure of the linked bank account, or lack of continued awareness regarding regular contributions, Karandlaje said.Among the the steps taken by the government to improve retention, increase participation and increase awareness include; holding periodic review meetings with States/UTs, providing incentives to Common Services Centres (CSCs) for enrolling eligible beneficiaries under the PM-SYM scheme and extension of the revival period of dormant accounts from one year to three years.The Ministry also informed the parliament through written response to another set of queries that over 31.82 crore unorganised workers have already been registered on eShram portal. The e-Shram portal registers the unorganised workers including gig and platform workers and provides them a Universal Account Number (UAN) on a self-declaration basis.In keeping with the vision of the Budget Announcement 2024-25, Ministry of Labour and Employment launched the eShram–“One-Stop-Solution” on October 21, 2024, which entails integration of different social security/ welfare schemes at single portal and enables unorganised workers registered on eShram to access social security schemes and see benefits availed by them so far, through eShram.Published on August 3, 2026