The law owes informal workers social security. We get it to them.
In Barari Block, Katihar, most workers have no employer who will enrol them in anything. We reach them in their villages, help them register, and organise them so the schemes they are owed actually arrive.
The schemes exist. Workers cannot reach them alone.
The gap is access, not design. Three schemes show what is at stake for one worker and one family.
a month in old age, for a small monthly contribution.
of life cover for Rs 436 a year.
of cashless hospital cover a year for the family.
Why now
The four labour codes came into force on 21 November 2025. The Code on Social Security gives informal workers a legal footing. The rules are still being written, and the field work to reach workers has to happen now.
Six things we do in the block.
Awareness
Village campaigns and plain-language material on rights and schemes, built for low-literacy audiences.
Organising
Forming and strengthening worker collectives, and backing their leaders, with deliberate attention to women.
Registration
Helping workers register and enrol in the schemes they qualify for, and tracking each case in a worker register.
Local capacity
Training frontline workers, local leaders and community organisations so the skills stay in the block.
Financial linkage
Connecting workers to banks and existing government schemes instead of building parallel benefits.
Dialogue with the state
Regular forums between workers and the administration, with feedback the administration can act on.
Reach. Enrol. Organise. Shift.
Reach
We go to workers where they live and meet them in groups.
Enrol
We help each worker register and apply, and follow the case until it is decided.
Organise
Workers form collectives that can ask offices for what they are owed.
Shift
The local system learns to respond to workers without an outsider pushing each case.
The aim is dignity. A worker who holds a card, knows what it does, and belongs to a group that can speak to an officer is in a different position from one who holds none of these.
Barari Block, Katihar.
Barari lies on the Ganga floodplain in Seemanchal, in north-east Bihar. Floods are part of the farming calendar, farm work is seasonal, and many households send someone away for work each year. Figures are from the Census of India 2011.
What this work contributes to.
Social protection systems for all.
Women's participation and leadership.
Support for decent work and formalisation.
Social and economic inclusion of all.
Act Now India's work falls within activities eligible for CSR funding under Schedule VII of the Companies Act, 2013.
What 401 workers told us.
In 2026 we surveyed 401 informal workers in two panchayats of Katihar district. The study was produced independently by PinPoint Ventures with the Act Now India field team.
Help a worker claim what the law already owes them.
We work with funders, CSR teams, researchers and government partners. Write to us, or support the work directly. PinPoint Ventures is our knowledge partner.
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