India has doubled its social protection coverage to 48.8 percent and reaffirmed its commitment to global labor welfare during the 353rd Governing Body meeting of the International Labour Organisation in Geneva, a senior government official said on Saturday.

The Indian delegation, led by Sumita Dawra, Secretary at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, highlighted the country’s progress in expanding social security schemes and called for enhanced global cooperation on key labor issues, including fair migration and workplace safety.

“India has doubled its social protection coverage to 48.8 percent, increasing the average global social protection coverage by 5 percent,” said Dawra, citing flagship initiatives such as the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, Employees’ State Insurance Corp., e-Shram Portal, and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

According to a statement, the EPFO has 7.37 crore contributing members. The ESIC has 60 crore beneficiaries. The e-Shram Portal has 30.6 crore registered unorganized members while the PM Jan Arogya Yojana has 30.6 crore registered unorganized members.

Boosting Global Labor Dialogue

India pledged support for the upcoming UN-led Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, underscoring its role in promoting social justice globally.

The country also pushed for the recognition of in-kind benefits when assessing social protection coverage, an issue being jointly examined with the ILO.

Dawra met ILO Director-General Gilbert Houngbo to discuss strengthening India’s partnership with the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

Houngbo lauded India’s leadership in hosting the first Regional Dialogue on Social Justice in New Delhi and invited the country to showcase best practices at the Annual Forum on Social Justice.

Fair Migration and Workplace Safety

As a significant source of migrant labor and recipient of the world’s highest remittances, India called for stronger international cooperation in managing skills-based migration and social security agreements.

It also backed the ILO’s proposal for the first Tripartite Global Forum on Migration under the Global Coalition for Social Justice.

India further reaffirmed its commitment to workplace safety through legal measures such as the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

The country emphasized its efforts under the Viksit Bharat 2047 Action Plan to enhance safety in major accident hazard units.

Advancing Responsible Business and AI

The Indian delegation discussed responsible business practices, living wages, and the role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future of work.

India’s voluntary financial contribution to an ILO-OECD feasibility study on an international reference classification of occupations was acknowledged as a significant step towards global employment benchmarking.

Ongoing Collaboration with ILO

Looking ahead, India and the ILO are set to deepen cooperation in determining living wages, improving conditions for gig and platform workers and ensuring decent work across value chains.

With India leading in shaping global labour policies, its growing collaboration with the ILO is expected to drive significant advancements in social protection and employment standards worldwide.