CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING WELFARE SCHEMES FOR PLATFORM WORKERS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR – THILAK R, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW, CHENNAI

BEST CITATION – THILAK R, CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING WELFARE SCHEMES FOR PLATFORM WORKERS: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (6) OF 2026, PG. 278-289, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.

ABSTRACT

The rise of platform-based work has fundamentally altered the employment landscape across the world, and India is no exception. Millions of individuals today earn their livelihoods through digital platforms—driving cabs, delivering food, providing home services, and completing micro-tasks—operating in an economic space that sits uneasily between formal employment and self-employment. While the Code on Social Security, 2020 has taken the significant step of recognizing platform workers as a distinct legal category deserving welfare protection, translating this recognition into operational welfare schemes has proven enormously difficult. The challenges are not merely administrative—they are structural, legal, financial, technological, and political. This article examines these challenges in detail, arguing that without a fundamental rethinking of how welfare schemes are designed, funded, and delivered for platform workers, the promise of the Code will remain precisely that—a promise. Drawing upon the Code’s provisions, emerging state-level initiatives, international comparisons, and the ground realities faced by platform workers, this article maps the terrain of implementation challenges and proposes practical pathways toward meaningful welfare delivery.

Keywords: Platform Workers, Welfare Schemes, Social Security Code 2020, Section 114, Implementation Challenges, Aggregators, Gig Economy, Labour Law Reform, Portability, Enforcement