Budget 2019 may offer a monthly pension for informal workers above 60 with Aadhaar

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It's election year and the Narendra Modi government may not leave any stone unturned to woo India's huge informal workforce that is faced with a job crisis like never before.

The budget 2019 may offer a monthly pension of ₹3,000 to the country's informal workforce above the age of 60, according to a report from Hindustan Times. The payment will be linked to unique identity number, Aadhaar.

This will reportedly benefit over 391 million people and cost the exchequer ₹1.2 trillion annually.

"Close to 81% of all employed persons in India make a living by working in the informal sector, with only 6.5% in the formal sector and 0.8% in the household sector.," the International Labour Organisation said in May 2018. Half of all urban jobs in India and 85% of rural jobs are in the unorganised space.

The rural parts of the country have had a tough time last few years. The wages have been so low that even with subdued inflation, workers have struggled to make ends meet.


The report has after thousands of workers from the unorganised sector reportedly threatened to march to the Parliament when the interim Budget is presented, demanding minimum wages, right to housing, and social security among other issues.

The government has been cornered by a report that the country's unemployment is at its worst in 45 years. In defence, Niti Aayog, a think tank chaired by the country's prime minister, denied a mounting crisis but admitted that there is a scarcity of high-paying, good quality jobs in the country.