According to a Times of India (TOI) report, the labour ministry has issued the directive following the notification of rules under the Code on Social Security last month, which require mandatory registration of gig and platform workers within 45 days.
The exercise is aimed at creating a comprehensive database of workers engaged by digital platforms, enabling the government to roll out welfare measures such as health insurance, life cover and pension schemes. The registration process will also facilitate the issuance of a unique national identity for gig workers, improving portability and formalising a segment that largely operates in the informal economy.
The ministry has warned aggregators that failure to meet the June 21 deadline could invite penal action under the Social Security Code.
As per the newly notified rules, a gig or platform worker is defined as an individual who works for at least 90 days in a year with a single aggregator, or 120 days across multiple platforms. Aggregators have also been mandated to report all new worker onboardings and exits on a real-time or daily basis through the central portal.
The TOI report said the government has been pushing platforms to share worker data and facilitate registration for some time, but progress has remained uneven.
Sheikh Salauddin, co-founder of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), told TOI that several aggregators had failed to take earlier directives seriously. “Aggregators must act responsibly and comply with the law and should not cause further delays. Workers cannot continue to wait endlessly for their welfare measures,” he said.