Insurance Cover to Organised/Unorganised Workers

The Government is providing insurance cover to labourers/workers in organised/unorganised sectors. In the organised sector, ESI Act applies to non-seasonal factories employing 10 or more persons and certain specified establishments employing 20 or more persons. Employees of factories and establishment covered under the Act and drawing wages upto Rs. 15000/- per month are covered under the Act. The employees working in factories/ establishments satisfying the above coverage requirements are covered under the Act and are provided medical and cash benefits in the contingencies of sickness, maternity and disablement and death due to employment injury.



The ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana’ was launched on 01.10.2007 to provide smart card based cashless health insurance cover to BPL families ( a unit of five) in the unorganized sector on family floater basis. The scheme became operational w.e.f. 01.04.2008. The scheme is presently being implemented in 22 States/ Union Territories. More than 1.74 crore smart cards have since been issued.



The Government is implementing insurance scheme such as Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana for landless Rural households and Janshree Bima Yojana for 45 notified occupations providing for death and disability cover. There is a health insurance scheme for providing health care facilities and Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana providing for Life insurance cover to handloom workers. Similarly, there is Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana and Bima Yojana providing for health insurance cover and life cover for Handicraft artisans.



The proposal to extend Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) to all the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Workers is under consideration of the Government.



Shri Harish Rawat, Minister of Labour and Employment gave this information in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today.

SOURCE;PIB