MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)
(a): Based on the survey carried out by the National Sample Survey Organization in the year 2011-12, the total employment in both organized and unorganised sector in the country was of the order of 47 crores. Out of this, about 8 crore were in the organized sector and the balance of 39 crore in the unorganized sector. The workers in the unorganized sector constitute more than 90 percent of the total employment in the country. Information in respect of casual and bonded labourers is not maintained centrally by Ministry of Labour & Employment. However, till date 313687 bonded labourers have been rescued by different States Governments. Data in respect of contract labourers and child labourers is at Annexure-I & II.
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(b): Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was implemented to provide health insurance cover of Rs. 30,000/- per family per year to BPL and 11 other categories of unorganised workers i.e. Building and other construction workers registered with the Welfare Boards, Licensed Railway Porters, Street Vendors, MNREGA workers who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year, Beedi Workers, Domestic Workers, Sanitation Workers, Mine Workers, Rickshaw pullers, Rag pickers and Auto/Taxi Driver. RSBY is one of the schemes listed in the Schedule I of the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.
The total beneficiary of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) till the launch of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) (i.e. 23.09.2018), was 2.75 crore families. With the launch of PMJAY on 23.09.2018, RSBY has been subsumed in it.
(c): The Government of India is implementing the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme since 1988 for rehabilitation of child labour. Under the NCLP Scheme, children in the age group of 9-14 years are rescued/withdrawn from work and enrolled in the NCLP Special Training Centres, where they are provided with bridge education, vocational training, mid day meal, stipend, health care, etc. before being mainstreamed into formal education system. Children in the age group of 5-8 years are directly linked to the formal education system through a close coordination with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). To ensure effective enforcement of the provisions of the Child Labour Act and smooth implementation of the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) Scheme a separate online portal PENCIL (Platform for Effective Enforcement for No Child Labour) has been developed. One of the components of PENCIL portal is the Child Tracking System which functions to monitor and track the rehabilitation of rescued children so that they do not fall in this vicious cycle of child labour. The Government of India has amended the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986 and enacted Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Act, 2016 which inter-alia covers complete prohibition on employment or work of children below 14 years of age in all occupations and processes; linking the age of the prohibition of employment with the age for free and compulsory education under Right to Education Act, 2009; prohibition on employment of adolescents (14 to 18 years of age) in hazardous occupations or processes and making stricter punishment for the employers contravening the provisions of the Act. The amendment provides for stricter punishment for employers for violation of the Act and the employment of children or adolescents in contravention of the provisions of the Act has now been made a cognizable offence. As per Census 2011, there are 43.53 lakh main workers in the age group of 5-14 years in the country.
(d): The major labour reforms are amalgamation simplification and rationalization of existing Central Labour Acts into 4 labour codes.
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