SDG 4: Quality Education | SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
Ministry of Labour & Employment | EPFO | National Social Security Board
In alignment with the Code on Social Security, 2020, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has undertaken a significant reform to eliminate “overlapping eligibility” barriers in educational support for wards of unorganised workers. Under the revised guidelines, students from families of Beedi, Cine, and Non-Coal (IOMC/LSD/Mica) mine workers can now concurrently avail themselves of the Ministry’s welfare-based scholarships alongside merit-based scholarships from any Central or State Government agency. This move ensures that high-achieving students from vulnerable households are not penalized for their academic merit, directly targeting a reduction in dropout rates and improving access to higher education for over 1 lakh beneficiaries annually. This convergence of welfare and merit marks a progressive shift in the implementation of the 2020 Labour Codes, prioritizing equity and long-term livelihood security for the informal sector.
Key Pillars of the Labour Welfare Education Reform
Convergence of Support: Enabling the simultaneous receipt of need-based welfare assistance and merit-based academic scholarships.
Equity-Driven Amendment: Removing administrative clauses that previously caused the “unintended exclusion” of deserving students due to dual-eligibility.
Targeted Occupational Support: Specifically benefiting the wards of Beedi, Cine, and Non-Coal mine workers (Iron, Manganese, Chrome, Limestone, Dolomite, and Mica).
Educational Continuity: Reducing financial hardship for informal households to curb school and college dropout rates.
Alignment with 2020 Codes: Operationalizing the Code on Social Security, 2020, in letter and spirit by expanding the scope of family-centric welfare measures.
What is the “Code on Social Security, 2020”? The Code on Social Security, 2020, is a comprehensive legal framework that consolidates nine central labour laws to extend social security benefits—such as insurance, maternity benefits, and educational support—to both organized and unorganised workers. A critical objective of the Code is the creation of a universal social security net for the 400 million workers in India’s informal sector. By mandating the registration of all unorganised workers on platforms like e-Shram, the Code enables the government to deploy family-focused welfare measures—such as these educational reforms—with higher “Implementation Fidelity,” ensuring that support is targeted and easily accessible through digital public infrastructure.
Policy Relevance
For India, this reform marks a transition from “Siloed Welfare” to “Convergent Social Security,” essential for maintaining the human capital of its massive informal workforce.
Regulatory De-risking for Human Capital: Allowing dual scholarships removes the “Opportunity Cost” for bright students from mining and beedi-worker families, ensuring that academic excellence leads to upward social mobility.
Bypassing the “Welfare Trap”: By decoupling need-based aid from merit-based rewards, the Ministry of Labour ensures that welfare support does not act as a ceiling for the aspirations of the “furthest behind” groups.
Operationalizing Labor Code Spirit: This amendment serves as a precursor to the full-scale implementation of the 2020 Social Security Code, showcasing how sub-schemes can be harmonized before the final rules are notified.
Sovereign Resilience via Education: Investing in the wards of mine and cine workers ensures that the next generation of India’s labor force is future-ready, aligned with the Viksit Bharat@2047 vision.
Data-Driven Welfare Efficiency: Using e-Shram data to verify eligibility for these concurrent scholarships improves “Implementation Fidelity” and reduces the leakage of funds in the informal sector.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How can the Ministry of Labour utilize the e-Shram platform to automatically map the Education Status of wards to their parents’ social security IDs for proactive welfare delivery?
Follow the full update here: Education Support for Wards of Unorganised Workers