Decoding the Budget announcements for gig workers: just promises or more?

In what is being seen as the government’s efforts to formalise India's burgeoning gig economy, the Union Budget 2025-26 announced key measures that aim to impact the lives of 1 crore gig workers in the country. 

In her annual Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: “Gig workers of online platforms provide great dynamism to the new-age services economy. Recognising their contribution, our Government will arrange for their identity cards and registration on the e-Shram portal. They will be provided healthcare under PM Jan Arogya Yojana. This measure is likely to assist nearly 1 crore gig-workers.”

e-Sharam, a central database for unorganised workers in India, provides them a Universal Account Number (UAN) and access to social security schemes. Earlier in September 2024, the Ministry of Labour & Employment had also called upon aggregators (including ride-sharing, food and grocery delivery, and logistics platforms) to “onboard themselves as well as the platform workers engaged by them”. In addition to e-Shram registration, the Union Budget also promised gig workers a health insurance coverage of up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY).

Even though the FM’s announcement was treated with cheer from all corners, what do these measures really mean for the average gig worker? And how will it be implemented on ground?