Migrant workers

Labour mobility across state boundaries exposes gaps in India's social protection architecture for migrant workers. Key legal instruments include the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, and the Code on Social Security, 2020. The e-Shram portal attempts universal worker registration to enable portability of social security benefits. Access to PDS, MGNREGS, housing, and healthcare across state lines remains contested. Institutional and legislative frameworks are evaluated on how effectively they resolve the mismatch between state-bound entitlements and the cross-state nature of migrant labour.