• Informal workers are often overlooked while taking measures for mental health despite facing physical, social, economic, and mental vulnerabilities.
• 15% of working-age adults globally live with a mental disorder, emphasizing the pivotal link between mental health and employment conditions. (International Labour Organization)
• Unemployment, unstable employment, low-paying jobs, workplace discrimination, and unsafe working conditions can pose significant risks to mental well-being.

Informal Workforce in India:

• The unorganised sector can be defined as enterprises whose activities are not regulated under any legal provision or do not maintain any regular accounts. (National Accounts Statistics, Ministry of Statistics)
• The total employment in the organised and the unorganised sector in India was 465 million in 2009-2010. (National Sample Survey Organisation)
• Out of this, only 7% were in the organised sector while the remaining 437 million (93%) were in the unorganised sector.
• 90% of India’s workforce (informal sector) contributes only more 50% of the GDP.
• 92% of the workers within the informal sector are involved in non-agricultural activities while only 8% are in agriculture.
• 4 out of 5 people in the world who slipped into poverty in 2020 were from India. (World Bank Report)

Challenges faced by Informal Workers: These undermine mental health and limit access to mental health care.

• Operate without regulatory protection,
• Work in unsafe working environments,
• Long working hours,
• Little access to social or financial protections,
• High uncertainty and deep precarity,
• Discrimination, and
• Gender disparities.

Mental Health of Unorganised Workforce:

Gender Disparity:

• Over 95% of India’s working women engaged in informal, low-paying, and precarious employment.
• They work without social protection with patriarchal structures and practices in their social and familial spaces.

Youth Unemployment:

• Unemployment and poor-quality employment have consistently been detrimental to mental health. (United Nations Development Programme)
• Youth unemployment is one of the highest in India which significantly impacts their mental health.
• Young workers are shifting to more precarious and informal work, accepting less pay and poorer working conditions out of desperation.
• They sometimes give up and exit the labour force altogether.
• The unemployment rate increases with educational levels, particularly for educated young women who show an unemployment rate of 42%. (State of Inequality in India Report, 2022)

Aging Workforce:

• India will become an aging society in the next two decades.
• There is no clear social security roadmap for this vulnerable group, which is susceptible to poor mental health.
• 33 million elderly individuals are working in informal sectors post-retirement. (Census of India, 2011)
• The absence of financial and healthcare security among this group can significantly impact their mental health and overall well-being.

The Role of Social Security:

• Informal workers often face mental distress due to rising debt and healthcare costs, both of which are interconnected.
• Social security schemes can serve as a preventive measure against economic distress.
• 26% of individuals who died by suicide were daily wage earners. (National Crime Records Bureau)
• Mental health and well-being are impacted by factors such as food security, access to livelihood, and financial stability.
• Employment guarantee programs can significantly improve mental health outcomes.
• The focus should be on promoting income, preventing economic distress, and ensuring relief from external shocks.

Code on Social Security 2020:

• It is a code to amend and consolidate the laws to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organised or unorganised or any other sectors.
• It brings unorganised sector, gig workers, and platform workers under the ambit of social security schemes.
• The schemes include life insurance and disability insurance, health and maternity benefits, provident insurance, pension and skill upgradation, etc.
• It was formulated according to the Report and Recommendations of the Second National Commission on Labour.
• It doesn''t explicitly state the goal of universalizing social security in India.
• It highlights the need for comprehensive and inclusive social security policies for the informal workforce.

Need for Improvement in Mental Health Care:

• India allocates less than 1% of its total health budget to mental health.
• It predominantly focuses on digital mental health programs.
• Digital programs include Tele-MANAS, National tele-consultation service, e-Sanjeevani, Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, and wellness centres and emergency psychiatric facilities.
• It is crucial to strengthen community-based care, and promote a people-centered, recovery-oriented, and human rights-oriented approach to address mental health as a universal human right.
• Proactive policies must be implemented to improve mental health recognition and action.
• Good health, including mental health are very important for advancement to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 3 and SDG 8).
• SDG 3 (Good health and well-being)
• SDG 8 (Decent work for all/economic growth)

Government Initiatives to Uplift Informal sector conditions:

• eShram Portal: For creating a database of Unorganised workers and delivery welfare schemes.
• Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM): For old age protection and social security of Unorganized workers.
• Aam Admi Beema Yojana: For workers in the Informal sector.
• PM SVANidhi: Micro Credit Scheme for Street Vendors
• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi

It is imperative to acknowledge mental health as a universal human right, especially for informal workers who make up a substantial part of India''s workforce. Adequate social security, employment opportunities, and improved mental health care are essential steps toward ensuring that this universal right is upheld, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.