In her Union Budget 2025 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new initiatives aimed at improving the welfare of gig workers and street vendors in India. A major proposal is the provision of ID cards for gig workers, granting them access to healthcare under a new social security scheme.
Sitharaman highlighted the government’s commitment to supporting street vendors, online workers, and gig workers associated with digital platforms. Gig workers will be provided identity cards and will be registered on the e-Shram portal, facilitating better access to benefits and services.
The PM SVANidhi scheme, aimed at empowering street vendors, will be revamped with enhanced loan offerings from banks, UPI-linked credit cards with a Rs 30,000 limit, and additional capacity-building support.
To ensure the proper implementation of these initiatives, a committee comprising various stakeholders has been set up to propose a framework for providing social security and welfare benefits to gig and platform workers.
Additionally, the Ministry of Labour and Employment had earlier issued an advisory directing aggregators to register both themselves and their platform workers on the e-Shram portal. This move aligns with the provisions of the Code on Social Security 2020, which defines gig and platform workers for the first time and includes measures for their welfare. The Code lays out provisions related to life and disability cover, accident insurance, health and maternity benefits, and old-age protection for these workers.
In her speech, Sitharaman emphasized that Budget 2025 continues the government’s focus on accelerating growth, fostering inclusive development, encouraging private sector investments, uplifting household sentiments, and increasing the spending power of India’s growing middle class.
The Parliament’s budget session, which began on January 31, will conclude on April 4. Sitharaman’s presentation marks her eighth consecutive budget as Finance Minister.
According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in Parliament, India’s economy is expected to grow between 6.3% and 6.8% in the 2025-26 financial year. The Survey also suggested that India must maintain growth of around 8% for the next decade or two to realize its ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India) goals, especially as the country showed slow progress in the first two quarters of the current financial year.