How do State-level Labor Policies Vary in Their Treatment and Support of Informal and Gig Workers in India?

Rishan Parekh

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.57607

How do State-level Labor Policies Vary in Their Treatment and Support of Informal and Gig Workers in India?

Author(s)	Rishan Parekh
Country	India
Abstract	India's labor market is seeing a seismic shift as informal and gig work become more dominant modes of employment. With almost 85% of the country's workforce beyond formal agreements, the sudden expansion in platform work has created new opportunities and new exposures. This paper surveys the difference state-wise in the way labor policies treat informal and gig workers by way of case studies on Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It spotlights the innovative and uneven state-wise approaches—ranging from Rajasthan's trailblazing welfare statute and Karnataka's tax-based model to Maharashtra's mapping exercises and Tamil Nadu's unionled support to workers. By way of comparative analysis, the paper demonstrates how variegations in political priorities, fiscal capacities, and labor market compositions induce policy divergence. The research finds that whereas other states are actively constructing institutional safeguards, still other states fall behind, presenting dangers of splintered worker security. By the inclusion of recent data, pictorial evidence, and policy reports, the research highlights the imperative of cooperative federalism: national minimum assurances for social protection, benefit portability, and platform responsibility, alongside state-level innovation. Lastly, the paper argues that the Indian gig economy comes to a fork in the road. With the right mixture of central leadership and local innovation, the gig economy can be transformed from a hub of precarity to the foundation of decent and inclusive work.
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 5, September-October 2025
Published On	2025-10-22
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.57607

View / Download PDF File

E-ISSN 2582-2160

doi

CrossRef DOI is assigned to each research paper published in our journal.

IJFMR DOI prefix is
10.36948/ijfmr

Downloads

Research Paper Format Copyright Permission Form and Undertaking Form Cover Page Vol 8 Isu 2 Cover Page Vol 8 Isu 1 Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 6

All research papers published on this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and all rights belong to their respective authors/researchers.

CC-BY-SA

About IJFMR Fees & Payment Current Issue Publication Archive	Submit Research Paper Track Submission Status Publication Guidelines Publication Ethics Peer Review & Plagiarism	Join as a Reviewer Editors & Reviewers Reviewer Referral Program Get Reviewer Membership Certi.	Website/Journal Policies Usage Policy Content Policies Privacy Policy

Contact Us		+91-9687-828-838	editor@ijfmr.com

International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

How do State-level Labor Policies Vary in Their Treatment and Support of Informal and Gig Workers in India?

Share this