Summary of key issues in accessing schemes

Workers face a number of issues in accessing schemes and these are summarised on this page. BoCW schemes do not have any components that address social deprivations except scholarships for children.

DELIBERATE EXCLUSIONS

1. of certainCertain job profiles within the sector:sector certainare constructionnot jobcovered. profiles,Some likeof these profiles include gardeners and parking area employees, are not covered.employees.
2. someSome components are available based on domicile in state such as marriage allowance.
    
3. Digital exclusion: those without smartphones (or any phone at all)
4. Against the backdrop that the BoCW schemes do not have an underlying SC/ST component, schemes for the upliftment of SC/ST communities managed by the SC/ST Corporation are primarily for locals, leading to exclusion of SC/ST migrants.

SCHEME AWARENESS/ KNOWLEDGE related challenges

1. Awareness of schemes that can be availed under BOCW is limited: Workersworkers lack awareness of available schemes, in some cases even after having spent 20 years in this occupation.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION related challenges

1. Documentation related gaps: Issuesunavailability of supporting documents or issues with supporting documents,documents includingsuch as Aadhaar card discrepancies, name/age mismatches, absence of bank passbooks, and challenges in Aadhaar seeding for bank accounts.

TECHNOLOGY/ PROCESS related challenges

1. Systemic problems: Thethe Seva Sindhu portal experiences intermittentperiodic slowdowns, and there are limitations on document upload size, often restricted to around 2 megabytes.
2. Resource constraints: Lacklack of personal smartphones or having to share them, coupled with difficulties in remembering login details.
3. Scheme components such as Pensionspensions falling under the Revenue departmentDepartment are more difficult to obtain whereas basic health, accident, and other entitlements under the jurisdiction of the Labor departmentDepartment are much easier to obtain procedurally.
   
4. Scholarship documentation: Tighttight timelines and documentation challenges for scholarships requiring income and caste certificates. While income certificates are valid for 5 years, caste certificates remain valid for life. However, individuals often discover that their expired income certificates have expired when applying for scholarships, resulting in missed deadlines.

BEHAVIOURAL challenges

1. Trust concerns: Some othermany CSOs in the ecosystem charge fees,fees to help with the application process. Another channel is cyber cafes that charge exorbitant amounts to get work done. There is general hesitancy in sharing documents,documents since many times CSOs are unable to get the work done despite taking money and reservationsall aboutdocuments. usingThere cyberare cafesalso affectsecurity/ trust.identity theft related concerns.