Dr. Ruma Ghosh, Senior Fellow (Faculty Member), V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) is a Labour Sociologist with a Ph.D from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She has more than 26 years of experience in conducting evidence based research, preparing capacity building modules and conducting capacity building in the area of Workers’ Rights, Child Labour, Gender Issues and Social Protection of Workers in Informal Employment. She coordinates the Institute’s Centre ‘Social Protection and Health Studies’ and is the Editor of the bi-annual academic journal ‘Labour and Development’ (ISSN 0973-0419) which is published by the Institute.
She is currently implementing an ILO sponsored Project on ‘Developing a Training of Trainers Module on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (FPRW)’ for awareness among the cotton growing community of Madhya Pradesh, India under the ILO RISE for Impact Project on Promoting Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in the Cotton Supply Chain of India.
She has designed and evaluated several policy oriented studies on child labour, social protection of workers, labour migration, gender issues, and health protection in the area of prevention of HIV in the context of informal employment. Some of her recent studies has been on Migration and Portability of Social Security in India- issues & concerns, 2024; Social Security in India-Understanding Policy Initiatives under the BRICS Network of Labour Institutes, 2023; Gender, Work and Health in Informal Manufacturing, 2022.
She has coordinated and conducted major projects for international organisations and for the Ministry of Labour & Employment (MoLE), Government of India such as Monitoring and Evaluation of the Government’s health insurance programme for informal workers called Rashtriya Swashthya Bima Yojana (now known as PM-JAY) in six states of India in 2013, a multi-centric study under the ILO-IPEC programme in India on child labour in nine hazardous industries, as a part of which designing, evaluation and reporting of child labour in hazardous activities at the home-based level was conducted (2000). She also implemented a ten-long year ILO-US-DOL programme on Prevention of HIV in the World of Work – A Tripartite Response, whereby besides conducting Evidence-based studies amongst the vulnerable categories of workers, Capacity Building Modules and Resource Materials were prepared for different tripartite partners - government officials, representatives of workers unions and employers- in order to integrate prevention of HIV in different initiatives of the Government (2001-2011).
She has been associated as a Member of several National Level Technical Committees by the Government such as Member, Task Force of Experts on Enhancing Benefits under EPS – 1995 (EPFO, 2024); Member of the Drafting Committee on the Code on Social Security (Ministry of Labour, 2018), Member of the Expert Committee to Assess the Implication of Economic/Financial Cost involved in the Draft Labour Code on Social Security & Welfare (MoLE, 2018), Member of the Sub-committee on Health and Maternity Welfare under the Committee for Formulation of an Action Plan and Model Scheme for Welfare of Building and other Construction Workers (DGLW, 2018), Member of the Committee to estimate the Cost to the Government to provide Incentives for entities that provide Maternity Benefits to their Women Employees (DGLW, 2018), Member of the Working Groups for discussion on Ratification of ILO Convention No. 184 concerning Safety and Health in Agriculture (MoLE, 2018), Member of the Sub-Group on the Gap Analysis in the Agriculture Sector for Ratification of ILO Convention No. 155 (MoLE, 2015), Member of the Expert Committee under the Building and other Construction Workers (RECS) Act, 1996 to suggest amendment to Central Rules (MoLE, 2014), Member Convenor of the National Sectoral Innovation Council constituted by Prime Minister on Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (NSIC-RSBY) in 2011 for preparing a Roadmap for Innovation 2010-2020 (MoLE 2011).
Her recent published work is ‘Social Security for Internal Migrants’ in the book ‘Migration Studies – The Fundamentals’ edited by Avijit Mistri, Md. Selim Reja and Bhaswati Das, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2025.
