Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 13: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today chaired a meeting to review the progress achieved under the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan (PM-SYM) scheme across the districts of Jammu and Kashmir, with emphasis on expanding social security coverage for unorganised workers through sustained awareness and registration drives.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Shailendra Kumar; Commissioner Secretary, Forests; Labour Commissioner, Charandeep Singh and other concerned officers, while Deputy Commissioners participated through video conferencing.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary directed the Labour Department to make dedicated efforts for reaching out to all eligible unorganised workers for their registration under the scheme so that they are able to avail the benefits envisaged under it. He asked the Labour Commissioner to furnish weekly progress reports indicating district-wise registrations and the incremental achievements made from today onwards.
Highlighting the significance of the scheme, the Chief Secretary observed that the benefits enshrined under PM-SYM are highly attractive for workers engaged in the unorganised sector. He said that the scheme, along with other social security initiatives such as PM Kisan Maandhan and the National Pension Scheme for Traders and Self-Employed Persons, guarantees old-age financial security to vulnerable sections of society.
He also called upon the Finance Department to closely monitor the implementation of these schemes and directed the Deputy Commissioners to assist in increasing registrations in their respective districts to ensure saturation of benefits.
Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Shailendra Kumar, on the occasion, stated that Jammu and Kashmir possesses immense scope for the successful implementation of such schemes as a large section of the population is associated with the unorganised sector. He stressed the need for widespread awareness regarding the benefits of these schemes so that more eligible workers are encouraged to enrol themselves.
Labour Commissioner, Charandeep Singh, while apprising the meeting about the scheme, informed that PM-SYM is a flagship pension scheme of the Government of India launched in 2019 to provide old-age social security to workers in the unorganised sector, including street vendors, construction workers, domestic workers, agricultural labourers, ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, hotel industry workers and other vulnerable categories earning up to Rs 15,000 per month.
The meeting also reviewed the demographic profile of beneficiaries, which reflected near-equal gender participation, with male beneficiaries accounting for 50.16 percent and female beneficiaries constituting 49.84 percent of the total registrations. The 26-35 years age group emerged as the largest category of subscribers, indicating encouraging participation of young workers in the contributory pension scheme.
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