40 Crore Workers, No Pension: India's Social Security Gap

Around 90% of India's workforce — roughly 44 crore people — works without a formal pension or paid leave

e-Shram has registered over 30 crore workers, but pension scheme PM-SYM has signed up under 50 lakh

Atal Pension Yojana, with about 9 crore subscribers, shows demand exists when enrolment is made easy

The Code on Social Security came into force in November 2025, finally defining gig and platform workers in law

Experts back auto-enrolment, portable lifetime accounts and a wage-linked floor to close the gap