Who
ITI graduate, wants a job
- Today
- Photocopies sent one by one, and weeks of checks.
- With the account
- Verified certificates straight from DigiLocker and SIDH.
The shiftWeeks → seconds
Every day, people in India work, learn, sell and repay loans. Proof of all this already exists in training centres, employers, banks, government schemes and women's groups, but the person can't use it. It sits in separate systems, out of the person's reach.
The Livelihood Account lets them bring that proof together, with their consent, to get their next job, loan, market or scheme.
01The proof exists. It doesn't travel.
The problem
Imagine you've been a good driver for ten years. You apply for a new job, and the new employer has never heard of you. You can't prove your ten years, so you start again from zero.
This happens to millions of people every day.
32 crore
(319 million)
What it means
Informal workers registered with the government. We know who they are, but not what they can do.
1 crore+
(10 million)
What it means
Young people trained under the national skilling program. Their certificates need to count with the next employer.
10 crore
(100 million)
What it means
Families in women's self-help groups who repay almost every loan. That record sits in group books, and she can't use it on her own.
₹9 lakh crore
(about $100 billion)
What it means
Digital payments by 55 lakh street vendors. Most employers, suppliers and lenders never see it.
Sources: e-Shram (MoLE 2026) · Economic Survey 2022-23 · DAY-NRLM (MoRD 2026) · PM SVANidhi (MoHUA 2026)
Rich in history. Poor in proof.
Every employer, lender and buyer asks the same question: can I trust this person's record? Today the proof exists, held in separate systems. A worker registers on one portal for identity, another for training, another for jobs, another for schemes and another for credit. Each asks for the same documents again.
The Livelihood Account is the layer that lets the proof travel with the person.
02
The idea
Records stay where they already are, at the source. The Livelihood Account is a key the person holds. It opens those records and shows them to someone they choose.
How it works
- 01
The proof already exists.
Training centres, employers, banks, women's groups and government schemes hold it, in systems such as DigiLocker, e-Shram, NCS, SIDH, the Account Aggregator and LokOS.
- 02
The person decides who sees it.
Consent is time-bound and tied to one purpose. The person can view, manage or withdraw it at any time.
- 03
Every record carries a trust label.
The person reading it sees where it came from and how much weight to give it.
Four trust labels
Verified.
Checked directly at an authoritative source, such as Aadhaar or government data.
Attested.
Confirmed by a recognised institution, such as an employer, an SHG or a trainer.
Assessed.
Evaluated through a method, such as a skills assessment or a credit score.
Self-declared.
Provided by the person.
Safeguards built in
Consent based.
Time-bound, limited to one purpose, and withdrawable at any time.
Data stays at source.
The account pulls records with consent. The originals stay where they are.
Audit, correction and grievance.
Every exchange is logged, and a person can ask for a correction or raise a complaint.
Data protection by design.
Built in line with India's DPDP Act.
Built on India's DPI.
Reuses existing digital public infrastructure and builds only the missing connections.
03One key, many opportunities
One key, many opportunities
Training:
What they already know
Jobs:
Skills and work history
Loans:
Income and repayment
Markets:
Sales, supply and delivery
Schemes:
Eligibility
04Every opportunity builds the next
Ravi's story (illustrative)
Training.
Ravi finishes a welding course at a training institute in Hubli. The certificate is Verified at source.
Job.
With his consent, the institute's record reaches an employer. The employer reviews it and decides independently.
Record.
His wages are paid digitally and become part of his record, Attested by the employer.
Loan.
A lender sees a year of steady income and funds his welding kit. Underwriting stays with the lender.
Market.
He takes on his own jobs, and his record wins him a regular client.
Growth.
His next loan is bigger.
05Real people. Real progress.
Real people. Real progress.
Who
Driver, wants a job
- Today
- Documents, calls to old bosses, and waiting.
- With the account
- His verified driving history, shared in one tap.
The shiftDays → minutes
Who
Woman entrepreneur, wants a loan
- Today
- Her record sits with the group, so she is asked for a guarantor.
- With the account
- Her own repayment and enterprise record, and a loan in her name.
The shiftGroup → her own name
Who
Farmer, wants credit and buyers
- Today
- Crop, warehouse, FPO and bank records sit in separate places.
- With the account
- One consented profile for the lender or buyer to review.
The shiftScattered → one profile
Who
Construction or gig worker, wants jobs and benefits
- Today
- Registers again with every platform, employer and scheme.
- With the account
- e-Shram and work records reused, with scheme eligibility checked faster.
The shiftRepeat forms → one record
Who
Small enterprise owner, wants to grow
- Today
- Udyam, GST, bank and sales records live apart. Every lender and marketplace asks again.
- With the account
- Business records shared once, with consent, for credit and market listings.
The shiftScattered → portable
The same works for street vendors, weavers, farmers, producers in supply chains, gig workers, domestic workers and small shop owners. If a person earns a living, their record should count.
07Doors it opens
Why institutions join
Hire the right person, faster.
Verified skills and work history, with no chasing references.
Lend to people you couldn't see before.
Trusted income and repayment records mean safer decisions.
Build a supply chain you can trust.
Onboard verified producers, suppliers and workers faster.
Reach the right people.
And follow the citizen after enrolment.
Prove your training works.
Every placement is on record.
Build once, help everyone.
One shared layer for every livelihood program.
Joining is simple.
Hold records? Connect once. Records stay with you, and you keep issuing and maintaining them.
Offer jobs, loans or orders? Ask for the person's consent, read their records with trust labels, and decide on your own terms.
Both start the same way: pick one use case, connect through open APIs, test in a sandbox and go live.
Integrate once. Cut duplicate checks, serve more people and keep an audit trail.
08Already underway
Every job, every sale, every repaid loan should count toward the next one.
- Why it can scale.
- It builds on systems that already reach crores, like DigiLocker, e-Shram and LokOS. The approach has three moves: reuse existing infrastructure, partner where it helps, and build only the missing pieces.
- Why now.
- The digital rails exist, the records are already digital, and people are ready to grow.
- Already underway.
- Jobs for 500 youth in partnership with EkStep Foundation · Infosys · DXC.
- Warehouse credit for 3,000 farmers in partnership with Finternet · Citi · Sahamati · PSB Alliance · Agri Stack.
- Loans for 10,000+ SHG women in partnership with Accion · Bajaj Finserv · Gates · DXC · Sahamati.
- The path ahead.
- Connect existing systems. Build trust in records. Make progress portable. Then open the network to many providers.
