"Directly employed, self-employed also ‘migrant workers’ under Modi govt’s new definition", 23 July 2020

The Narendra Modi government has decided to expand the definition of ‘inter-state migrant worker’ to ensure that no one gets left out of the social security net in the future..

The definition will now include all workers whose monthly family income is less than Rs 18,000, and who go to another state and get directly employed or self-employed.

...The 1979 law defines a migrant worker as one who is recruited by or through a licenced contractor in one state for employment in an establishment in another state.

It also defined an ‘inter-state migrant worker’ as any person who is recruited by an employer or a contractor in one state for employment in an establishment situated in another state.

Then, on 20 July, the panel further recommended the inclusion of self-employed migrant workers in the definition...

Lakhs of migrant workers lost their livelihoods when the factories and businesses they worked in shut down, and in the absence of money, shelter and food, the workers started leaving for their homes in faraway villages, mostly on foot.

The government intervened after facing flak and announced relief packages offering free foodgrains, but the aid did not reach many, as they were not registered in any official records.

The labour ministry is now in the process of readying a national database of unorganised workers...