Kerala’s online registration service gets popular among migrant workers

Athidhi Kerala is a multilingual mobile application designed to facilitate seamless registration and other essential activities for migrant workers.

The online registration system introduced by the Labour department with the support of a dedicated portal and mobile application has been well received by migrant labourers in Kozhikode. It aims at completing their registration formalities on arrival.

‘Athidhi Kerala’, the multi-lingual mobile application, is reportedly the most popular option for migrants to complete the registration formalities online.

Officials with the Labour department said over 22,000 migrant labourers had used the online registration service within a year in the district to obtain the ‘Athidhi’ card and thus claim benefits under various welfare schemes of the government. They added that there had been a steep increase in the number of migrant opting for the online registration.

It was in 2023 that the multi-lingual mobile application and the portal-based registration service were launched in the State. The initiative aimed at creating an accurate registry of migrant labourers in the State. The mobile app and portal offered a comprehensive platform for registration of employers, contractors, and migrant labourers alike.

Labour department officials said that migrant workers would be able to complete the registration process easily by signing up with their mobile numbers and address. The OTP-based authentication would help them easily access the features of the app. They would also be able to receive the notifications occasionally sent by the Labour department through the app.

“The special camps and field visits are also going on in different parts of the state to encourage more labourers to get their registrations done on the portal or app. Interestingly, the job providers have also been found encouraging the same among their workers and adopting their own measures to complete the online process on behalf of the workers,” said an Assistant Labour Officer associated with the State-level project. He said the local administrators were also found arranging their own camps to support the department and facilitate a trouble-free registration.