[Critically examine the adequacy of the Code on Social Security, 2020 in addressing the welfare needs of gig and platform workers. (GS-II, 15 marks)](/upsc-mains-answer/critically-examine-adequacy-code-social-security-9e8e539)

The Code on Social Security, 2020 is the first Indian law to legally define "gig worker" and "platform worker" as distinct categories and to promise them life, disability, accident, health, maternity and old-age protection [1]. With NITI Aayog projecting the gig workforce to grow from 77 lakh (2020-21) to 2.35 crore by 2029-30 [2], the Code's adequacy is a live test of India's welfare architecture.

Strengths of the Code

• Statutory recognition: ends the employee-versus-contractor ambiguity that earlier excluded gig workers from PF/ESI cover [1].
• Dedicated financing: provides for a Social Security Fund with aggregator contributions of 1–2% of turnover (capped at 5% of payments to workers) [1].
• Delivery platform: linked to the e-Shram National Database of Unorganised Workers, launched 26 August 2021, which has crossed 31 crore registrations and onboarded 12 major aggregators such as Zomato, Swiggy, Uber and Urban Company [1][3].
• Budget 2025-26 extension: identity cards and Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY health cover for e-Shram-registered gig workers [1].

Persistent inadequacies

• Enumeration deficit: only about 5 lakh gig workers were registered on e-Shram as of November 2025 against a claimed 1-crore beneficiary universe [1][2] — five of six remain outside government reach.
• Self-declaration model: registration depends on worker awareness and aggregator cooperation, not on an enforceable employer duty [3].
• Enabling, not entitling: benefits flow from schemes the Government "may" frame; no justiciable minimum wage, collective bargaining right or grievance machinery for gig workers [1].
• Federal patchwork: States such as Rajasthan, Karnataka and Telangana legislated separately, signalling that the central Code alone was found insufficient.

The Code is therefore a necessary first step but an incomplete one: it recognises gig workers without guaranteeing them. Making aggregator registration of workers mandatory and auditable, notifying the Fund's rules, and anchoring portable benefits in a periodically updated enumeration would convert promise into entitlement — advancing the Directive Principles under Articles 39 and 41 and SDG-8's mandate of decent work for all.