National Database of Unorganised Workers

The National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) is India's national register for tracking, analyzing, and supporting the vast unorganised workforce sector. This interactive dashboard provides real-time insights into employment patterns, demographic distributions, and economic trends affecting millions of workers across the country.

Our database captures critical information about domestic workers, daily wage laborers, street vendors, artisans, and other informal sector employees. Through data-driven analysis, we help policymakers, researchers, and organizations make informed decisions that positively impact worker welfare and employment opportunities.

Key Features & Insights

How to Use This Dashboard

The interactive Power BI dashboard below allows you to explore worker data through various filters and visualizations. You can drill down by state, skill category, age group, gender, and time period to gain specific insights relevant to your research or policy requirements.

This database is continuously updated with new registrations, employment changes, and policy implementations to ensure accuracy and relevance. The information helps bridge the gap between unorganised workers and formal employment opportunities while supporting evidence-based policy development.

What NDUW registration means for a domestic worker

The NDUW is populated through the e-Shram portal (eshram.gov.in), run by the Ministry of Labour and Employment and launched in 2021. A worker who registers receives an e-Shram card carrying a 12-digit Universal Account Number (UAN). The number stays valid for life and works across all Indian states, which matters for domestic workers who migrate between their home district and the city where they work.

Registration is free of charge. A worker can self-register on the portal or visit the nearest Common Service Centre (CSC), where an operator completes the registration at no cost to the worker. Anyone who is asked to pay for a basic e-Shram registration is being overcharged.

Who qualifies

Any unorganised-sector worker aged 16 to 59 can register: domestic workers, construction workers, street vendors, agricultural labourers, gig and platform workers, and similar occupations. Three conditions exclude a worker: membership of EPFO, membership of ESIC, or being an income-tax payer. Household work almost never comes with EPF or ESI coverage, so the large majority of maids, cooks, nannies, and caretakers qualify.

Documents needed

• Aadhaar card
• A mobile number linked to Aadhaar, for OTP verification during self-registration
• Bank account details (account number and IFSC)

If the worker’s mobile number is not linked to Aadhaar, self-registration on the portal is not possible; the worker can instead register at a CSC using biometric authentication. After registering, workers should keep their occupation, address, and mobile number updated on the portal, since scheme benefits are delivered against these records.

How to register, step by step

1. Open eshram.gov.in and choose the self-registration option, or visit the nearest Common Service Centre.
2. Enter the mobile number linked to Aadhaar and confirm the OTP, then enter the Aadhaar number.
3. Fill in personal details, address, education, and occupation. Domestic and household workers select their occupation from the list; this classification is what routes future scheme benefits.
4. Add bank account details (account number and IFSC) so benefits can be transferred directly.
5. Review and submit, then download the e-Shram card. A printed copy is useful, but the UAN itself is what identifies the worker in the database.

The whole process takes a few minutes when the Aadhaar-mobile link is in place. When it is not, the CSC route with biometric authentication is the practical fallback, and fixing the mobile link at an Aadhaar centre is worth doing anyway, since most government services now verify through that number.

What the registration provides

Registered workers get accident insurance cover provided by the government, an identity as a recognised worker that is portable across states, and a route into central and state social security schemes as they are extended to unorganised workers. During the pandemic, the database was used to reach unorganised workers with relief measures, which is the practical reason registration is worth the effort: a worker who exists in the database can be found when support is distributed.

For domestic workers specifically, the e-Shram card is often the first formal record of their occupation. It does not change the terms of their employment, and it is not a labour contract, but it establishes them in a government system that until 2021 had no record they existed.