Livelihoods: Budget 2021 has made no allocation for the social security fund that has been provided under the Code on Social Security, 2020. Passed in the last session of Parliament, this code seeks to provide social security coverage to unorganised workers, including migrant workers.
The social security fund, when introduced, will finance schemes such as old-age pension, life and disability cover, and health and maternity benefits for unorganised workers.
Nearly six million salaried workers also lost their jobs from May to August 2020, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Civil society groups had been demanding an urban employment scheme on the lines of the government’s flagship MGNREGA scheme for the rural poor. However, the government has stayed silent on this issue.