Social Security Coverage in India Rises to 64.3% in 2025: ILO Report

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has reported a significant rise in India’s social protection coverage, stating that nearly 64.3% of the population—around 950 million people—are now covered under at least one social security scheme in 2025, up from 19% in 2015.

Key Highlights:

Social Security Expansion Over a Decade:

• 2015: 19.0%
• 2019: 24.4%
• 2022: 48.8%
• 2025: 64.3%
• This marks a more than threefold increase in coverage over 10 years.

Coverage Estimation Based on ILO Criteria:

• Data sourced from 32 central and state-level schemes.
• Schemes included must be:
  • Legislatively backed
  • Provide cash benefits
  • Be currently active
  • Have verified time-series data for the last three years

Key Welfare Schemes Considered

• Atal Pension Yojana
• PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi
• MGNREGA
• Janani Suraksha Yojana
• PM POSHAN
• Other pension, maternity, and child benefit schemes

Impact on Global Labour Relations:

• Stronger domestic coverage is expected to:
  • Enhance India’s ability to negotiate Social Security Agreements (SSAs) with developed countries
  • Improve portability of social protection for Indian professionals abroad
  • Boost India’s standing in trade and labour mobility negotiations

National Data Pooling Effort:

• Government conducted a national-level social protection data pooling exercise
• Phase-I covered central schemes and women-centric schemes across 8 major states (e.g., UP, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, MP, TN)
• This initiative allowed the ILO to incorporate fresh and verified data in its 2025 assessment