Construction-worker conference turns attention to a Rs 77,000 crore welfare corpus
Officials estimate more than seven crore construction workers and are asking states to improve registration, fund use and portable access to benefits.
A Labour Ministry conference on Building and Other Construction Workers has put the use of welfare funds at the centre of national discussion. Officials estimated a workforce of more than seven crore and an available cess corpus of about Rs 77,000 crore.
The programme highlighted Digital Labour Chowk platforms, facilitation centres and online cess-collection portals, alongside calls for wider registration, worker-mobility support and more transparent use of accumulated funds.
Why it matters
Construction workers are often mobile and informal. Timely, portable welfare access can affect social security, safety and continuity of support across state boundaries.
SCULTRA point of view
The key operating measure is not the corpus alone, but how quickly and transparently verified workers receive benefits at the places where they live and work.
Limitations
The worker and corpus figures are official estimates. The release does not provide state-level collection, disbursement, utilisation, beneficiary coverage or outcome data for the digital services.
Source: Press Information Bureau / Ministry of Labour and Employment, 11 September 2026, 7:21 PM IST.