Geneva: India has achieved a historic milestone in recording a 45 percentage point jump in the social security coverage of its population over the last decade to cover 94 crore people and is now being ranked second in the world on the dashboard of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
According to the latest ILO data, India’s social security coverage has increased from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025, an unprecedented 45 percentage point surge over the past decade.
ILO has acknowledged India’s achievement and officially published on its dashboard that 64.3 per cent of India’s population, i.e. over 94 crore people, are now covered under at least one social protection benefit.
Director General ILO praised India’s focussed welfare policies for the poor and labour class under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
ILO’s Criteria for Scheme Consideration for each country include that the scheme should be legislatively backed, in cash and be active, and verified time series data of last three years has to be provided.
While holding a bilateral discussion with the Director General, ILO, Gilbert F. Houngbo on the sidelines of the International Labour Conference (ILC), India’s Minister of Labour and Employment, Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted the pro-poor and labour welfare schemes undertaken by the Modi Government over the past 11 years.
The Minister also apprised DG ILO about the national-level Social Protection Data Pooling Exercise that has been carried out by the Government in collaboration with the ILO.
India is also the first country globally to update its 2025 social protection coverage data in the ILOSTAT database, reinforcing its leadership in digital governance and transparency in welfare systems.
