(ET)
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has given its approval to the labour ministry proposal on universal social security cover for 500 million workers, including those in the farm sector, seeking to start the process of putting in place a more secure welfare net a year before the general election.
The finance and labour ministries will work out the details of the scheme that will require nearly Rs 2 lakh crore when fully rolled out for the lower 40% of the country’s total workforce. The remaining 60% of the workforce is expected to make contributions out of their own pocket, either fully or partially. “PMO has asked labour ministry to go ahead with the social security cover at the recent high-level meeting with them where labour ministry officials made a presentation on the universal social security code,” a senior government official told ET, requesting anonymity. “Even the finance ministry is on board with the idea.”
