India plans to plug gaps in employment data by 2022

The Indian government plans to plug gaps in employment data by 2022, gathering job status details of some half a billion workers to improve policy-making, cite sources, according to Business Standard. 

The government will derive data from the informal sector — which covers 75% of the workforce — from surveys of domestic workers and migrant labourers, and through information submitted through a dedicated online portal, say sources. 

The push to collect data could help the government formulate better policies to create jobs and offer skills training, made even crucial after many migrant workers left due to a pandemic-led lockdown earlier in 2021, says Business Standard.

Currently, the formal sector currently employs close to a quarter of the Indian workforce. Employment data in this sector is available through retirement plans and state-sponsored insurance, as well as through polls conducted by the government on companies. 

READ: India’s first national employment policy to create more jobs

However, data on informal workers is scarce and can currently only be collected from an online portal launched in August, called e-Shram. So far, over 100 million workers have signed up with their personal details on the portal, with some 280 million more to go.