India has been conferred upon the prestigious International Social Security Association (ISSA) Award for Outstanding Achievement in Social Security 2025. Union Minister for Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya recieved the award at ISSA World Social Security Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia today. After Receiving the award Dr Mandaviya said, this award is a testament to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in ensuring social welfare for every citizen. The minister highlighted the country’s robust digital public infrastructure ensuring efficient last mile delivery of social security benefits. Referring to e-Shram portal, the Minister said that the country has witnessed fastest expansions of social security coverage in the world, rising from 19 per cent in 2015 to 64.3 per cent in 2025, covering more than 940 million citizens.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment said that ISSA has lauded the government’s transformative e-Shram portal initiative, with over 300 million unorganised sector workers registered in four years. It stated that this award recognizes country’s exceptional progress in social protection systems globally. Being the fifth recipient of this award since its inception, India joins the leading countries across the globe in the field of Social Protection coverage.