New Delhi [India], May 23 (ANI): In a significant indication of formal job creation in the country, about 16.33 lakh (16,32,744 lakh) new workers were enrolled under the Employees' State Insurance (ESI) Scheme in March 2025, according to data released by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

On Friday, the Ministry of Law and Justice said in a release that 7.96 lakh new registrations are coming from employees aged up to 25.

The data suggests an encouraging uptick in first-time job entrants in the formal sector.

The data suggests growing female participation in the workforce, as 3.61 lakh women employees were enrolled under the ESI scheme during the same period.

Ministry of Law and Justice data further reveals that about 100 transgender employees were registered under the ESI scheme in March.

Additionally, 31,514 new establishments were brought under the ESI scheme, reflecting business expansion and compliance with labour laws.

The provisional ESI Scheme provides social security and health insurance benefits to workers in the organised sector.

According to the data, the Number of newly registered establishments during the month was 31,514, an increase of 7,988.

The Ministry said that through the data, it is noticeable that out of the total 16.33 lakh employees added during the month, 7.96 lakh employees, amounting to around 49 per cent of the total registrations, belong to the age group of upto 25 years.

The payroll data, issued by the Ministry, is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise.

The Employees' State Insurance Scheme is an integrated measure of Social Insurance embodied in the Employees' State Insurance Act. It is designed to accomplish the task of protecting 'employees' as defined in the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, against the impact of incidences of sickness, maternity, disablement and death due to employment injury and to provide medical care to insured persons and their families.

The ESI Scheme applies to factories and other establishment's viz. Road transport, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, newspapers, shops, and educational/medical institutions wherein 10 or more persons are employed. (ANI)