More than 60 lakh unorganised workers from Punjab, including 22,272 gig and platform workers, have registered on the Centre’s e-Shram portal, with the industrial hub of Ludhiana emerging as the state’s biggest contributor with nearly nine lakh enrolments.
A centralised national database, the e-Shram portal connects informal workers with social security and welfare schemes.
According to official data shared by the Union ministry of labour and employment, Punjab’s strong enrollment figures place it among the better-performing states in the national drive to create a comprehensive database of unorganised workers, even though it trails several larger states across the country.
Responding to a question raised by Hoshiarpur MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Union minister of state for labour and employment Sushri Shobha Karandlaje said that as of July 14, 2026, Uttar Pradesh leads the nationwide drive with 8.45 crore registrations, followed by Bihar with 3.24 crore, West Bengal with 2.67 crore, Madhya Pradesh with 1.90 crore, Maharashtra with 1.79 crore, Rajasthan with 1.47 crore, Odisha with 1.39 crore and Gujarat with 1.23 crore. Punjab has 60.36 lakh registrations which are comparable with Kerala’s 62.16 lakh, while comfortably outperforming Haryana’s 56.28 lakh, Telangana’s 47.06 lakh and Delhi’s 36.73 lakh, contributing to a nationwide portal total that has now crossed 31.82 crore registrations.
Ludhiana recorded the absolute highest enrolment with 8,96,697 workers, followed sequentially by Patiala with 4,89,944, Amritsar with 4,36,836, Jalandhar with 3,79,696, and Sangrur with 3,72,972. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Malerkotla reported the lowest engagement with just 10,927 registrations, followed closely by Barnala at 1,20,979 and Faridkot at 1,21,547.
{{/usCountry}}Ludhiana recorded the absolute highest enrolment with 8,96,697 workers, followed sequentially by Patiala with 4,89,944, Amritsar with 4,36,836, Jalandhar with 3,79,696, and Sangrur with 3,72,972. At the opposite end of the spectrum, Malerkotla reported the lowest engagement with just 10,927 registrations, followed closely by Barnala at 1,20,979 and Faridkot at 1,21,547.
{{/usCountry}}Officials attribute Ludhiana’s lead to its established status as Punjab’s largest industrial district, which naturally employs a vast informal and migrant workforce across heavy manufacturing, textiles, hosiery, engineering and construction sectors, resulting in the state’s highest overall concentration of eligible e-Shram beneficiaries.
Reflecting the state’s core agrarian economy, agricultural workers account for the single largest share of Punjab’s e-Shram registrations at 14.44 lakh, followed by construction workers at 9.73 lakh, and domestic or household workers at 9.28 lakh. Other categories fueling the database include apparel workers with 6.78 lakh, tourism and hospitality staff with 2.24 lakh, and capital goods and manufacturing workers contributing 2.10 lakh.
The ministry noted that the e-Shram portal, which originally launched in August 2021, serves as a vital national database for unorganised workers and provides each registrant with a unique Universal Account Number (UAN). To maximise its utility, the Centre introduced the e-Shram One-Stop Solution in October 2024, integrating 15 central welfare schemes onto this single platform to help informal workers seamlessly access social security benefits and track their received assistance.
Government records show that these integrated programs include schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, PM-KISAN, PMAY (Urban and Gramin), PM SVANidhi, and the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), alongside direct links to the National Career Service, Skill India Digital Hub, and the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan pension scheme.
District-wise data indicate that Ludhiana also leads Punjab in the uptake of welfare schemes linked to e-Shram. It recorded 2.32 lakh beneficiaries under PMSBY, followed by Patiala (1.45 lakh) and Jalandhar (1.05 lakh). Under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, Ludhiana again topped the state with 4.11 lakh beneficiaries, ahead of Patiala (2.41 lakh) and Jalandhar (2.02 lakh).