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Several technology-enabled reforms have been made through the Shram Suvidha Portal in 2020
About Shram Suvidha Portal
Shram Suvidha Portal(Labour Reforms Cell), launched by the Government in 2014, caters to four major Organisations under the Ministry of Labour & Employment, namely
- Office of Chief Labour Commissioner (Central)
- Directorate General of Mines Safety
- Employees’ Provident Fund Organization and
- Employees’ State Insurance Corporation.
The Unified Shram Suvidha Portal is developed to facilitate reporting of Inspections, and submission of Returns. The Unified Shram Suvidha Portal has been envisaged as a single point of contact between employer, employee and enforcement agencies bringing in transparency in their day-to-day interactions.
Objective
The objective of Web Portal is to consolidate information of Labour Inspection and its enforcement. It will lead to transparency and accountability in inspections. The compliances would be reportable in Single Harmonized Form which will make it simple and easy for those filing such forms. The performance will be monitored using key indicators thus making the evaluation process objective.It promote the use of a common Labour Identification Number (LIN) by all Implementing agencies.
The main features
The main features of the Portal are as follow:
- Allotment of Unique Identity i.e. Labour Identification Number (LIN) for effective, efficient and real-time governance in Labour Administration. Unique Labour Identification Number (LIN) has been allotted to 30,10,746 units as on 24.11.2020.
- To bring transparency and accountability in enforcement of labour laws through Online Inspection System and Filing of Online Inspection Report
- Common Online Registration and Filing of Self-Certified and Simplified Single Online Annual Return for multiple labour laws to ease the complexity of compliance
- Unified ECR under EPFO/ESIC to encourage compliance by reducing transaction costs and promoting ease of business.
With these initiatives, the procedures have been simplified; returns and registration forms have been unified to provide an ease of doing business environment through Shram Suvidha Portal.
Further, the portal provides a platform for sharing of information among the labour enforcement agencies.
In this way, the Portal has not reduced but eased the compliance burden on establishments by simplifying the way of doing business and also facilitated effective enforcement of labour laws enhancing wage, job and social security for workers.
Reforms and Current status
Unified Online Annual Returns
- Unified Online Annual Returns have been made mandatory in respect of eight (8) Central Labour Acts, namely,
- the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948
- the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
- the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
- the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
- the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, and
- the Building and Other Construction Workers(Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) (BOCW) Act, 1996.
- These Returns which were half yearly/annually earlier, now need to be filed by all employers annually only and are to be filed online. 1,30,925 online returns have been filed on the Shram Suvidha Portal as on 24.11.2020 Since launch of the Online Annual Return.
- 19,722 online returns have been filed on the Shram Suvidha Portal till 24.11.2020 under Mines Act, 1952 (Coal Mines Regulations, Metallurgical Mines Regulations and Oil Mines Regulations).
- Unified monthly Electronic Challan-cum-Return (ECR) for EPFO and ESIC has been made operational.
Common Registration
- Common Registration form for EPFO and ESIC has been made operational.
- 2,16,640 units have been registered with EPFO & 1,80,390 units have been registered with ESIC as on November 24, 2020.
- Further, Common Registration form for EPFO & ESIC has been made operational for new Public & Private Limited Companies and One Person Company at the time of incorporation of the company through Spice+ and AGILE-PRO e-forms on MCA portal with effect from 15.02.2020.
- Registration for EPFO & ESIC for new Public & Private Limited Companies and One Person Company has been stopped on Shram Suvidha Portal from 15.02.2020.
- Common Registration under the following three Central Acts is being provided online on Shram Suvidha Portal. They are;
- the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1996
- the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and conditions of Service) Act, 1979 and
- the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970
- Licenses under two Central Acts, namely, the, Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 have been made online. 36,141 licenses have been issued using this facility as on 24.11.2020.
State Integration:
Integration of States with Shram Suvidha Portal is under way. As of now, Haryana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Delhi are being integrated with the Portal. Data is being shared and LIN is being allotted to the establishments covered by the state labour enforcement agencies.
Startup India:
- Facility for exemption from Labour Inspections under six (6) Central Labour Acts is being provided to the Start-ups which submit self-certified declarations through Shram Suvidha Portal.
- State/UT Governments have been advised to regulate the inspections for the Start-Ups, wherever applicable and extend the self-certification compliance regime from 3 years to 5 years.
