MENTAL HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT: A STUDY OF GIG WORKERS IN INDIA’S INFORMAL DIGITAL ECONOMY

Shobha S , Dr. Gurumurthy T N

Gig economy; platform labour; mental health rights; algorithmic management; Social Security Code 2020; psychological counselling; precarity; India; cognitive behavioural therapy; Rajasthan Welfare Act; Karnataka Welfare Act.

Somewhere in India right now, a young man on a motorcycle is navigating traffic, watching an app, and wondering whether today’s earnings will cover his loan installment. He has no employment contract, no sick leave, no union, and no therapist. He has approximately 7.7 million counterparts doing the same thing—a number that will swell beyond 23.5 million within this decade. This paper is written with that man in mind. It argues that the mental health of India’s gig workforce is not a private burden or a corporate wellness talking point; it is a human rights question demanding legal recognition and enforceable remedy. Drawing on documented psychological evidence, an evolving legislative landscape that runs from the Social Security Code 2020 through the Rajasthan (2023) and Karnataka (2025) welfare statutes, and the clinical literature on counselling for precarious workers, the paper makes the case that access to psychological care must be built into the social security architecture for gig workers as a non-negotiable entitlement, not a discretionary benefit.

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"MENTAL HEALTH AS A HUMAN RIGHT: A STUDY OF GIG WORKERS IN INDIA’S INFORMAL DIGITAL ECONOMY", JETNR - JOURNAL OF EMERGING TRENDS AND NOVEL RESEARCH (www.JETNR.org), ISSN:2984-9276, Vol.4, Issue 4, page no.a559-a567, April-2026, Available :https://rjpn.org/JETNR/papers/JETNR2604069.pdf

Volume 4 Issue 4, April-2026

Pages : a559-a567

Paper Reg. ID: JETNR_233634

Published Paper Id: JETNR2604069

Downloads: 00056

Research Area: Medical Science All

Country: Tumakuru, Karnataka, India

Published Paper PDF: https://rjpn.org/JETNR/papers/JETNR2604069

Published Paper URL: https://rjpn.org/JETNR/viewpaperforall?paper=JETNR2604069

ISSN: 2984-9276 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.87 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2023

An International Scholarly Open Access Journal, Peer-Reviewed, Refereed Journal Impact Factor 9.87 Calculate by Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar | AI-Powered Research Tool, Multidisciplinary, Monthly, Multilanguage Journal Indexing in All Major Database & Metadata, Citation Generator

Publisher: RJPN (IJPublication) Janvi Wave

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