New Delhi, June 28 : India has recorded a phenomenal expansion of social security coverage from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025. This means that 64.3 per cent of India's population, comprising 94.3 crore people, are now covered under at least one social protection benefit.

This unprecedented increase has also been acknowledged by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on its ILOSTAT database. This 45-percentage point jump over ten years marks one of the most significant expansions globally.

In terms of the number of beneficiaries, India now ranks second in the world after China in providing social protection to citizens.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment is working closely with the ILO for a national social protection data pooling exercise to obtain a holistic picture of social protection coverage in India.

Under this project, encrypted Aadhaar is being used as a unique identifier across 34 major Central schemes such as MGNREGA, EPFO, ESIC, APY, and PM-POSHAN, to identify unique beneficiaries.

Financial inclusion has been at the heart of India's social security push. As of June 18, 2025, over 55.64 crore people hold Jan Dhan accounts, giving them direct access to government benefits and formal banking services.

The Aadhaar programme has helped create a unique digital identity system. As of June 27, 2025, over 142 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued. This system supports authentication and delivery of benefits to the right person at the right time.

The DBT system has streamlined welfare payments, reducing leakages and delays. Cumulative savings have reached Rs 3.48 lakh crore as of March 2023, reflecting its efficiency and scale.

More than 51.06 crore people enrolled in PM Suraksha Bima Yojna, 23.64 crore people in PM Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojna.

Apart from this, over 51.35 lakh workers in PM Shram Yogi Mandhan Yojna and more than 3 crore women to be empowered as Lakhpati Didis, over 4 crore houses have also been allotted under PM Awas Yojna to uplift the poor, the official figures show.

As per the ILO, social security is the protection that a society provides to individuals and families to ensure access to health care and to guarantee income security. It is especially important in times of old age, sickness, unemployment, disability, maternity, work injury or the loss of a breadwinner. Defined in ILO conventions and UN instruments, social security is recognised as a basic human right.

India has a wide-ranging social security system comprising social insurance and social assistance schemes at both the central and state levels. These include welfare payments, mandatory social insurance with contributions from the employer and employee, and other employer-based benefits. In addition to these, there are also schemes providing in-kind benefits like food, health, shelter, security, etc.

Phase I of this pooling exercise started on 19th March 2025 and includes ten states including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Gujarat.

This data pooling exercise will not only strengthen India's global reputation as a social protection pioneer but also facilitate the Central government, states and UTs to optimise welfare spending and move closer towards sustainable financing of social protection. It will help the states in identifying unique beneficiaries under state-specific social protection schemes.

/IANS