Employees’ State Insurance scheme: All states, self-employed may be included

The government plans to universalise healthcare facilities and medical insurance under the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme to include all states and districts in the country as well as construction workers and self-employed workers.

The labour ministry also plans to provide coverage to construction workers as well as include those establishments that employ less than the mandated 10 workers under the scheme. The ministry will soon set up a committee to work out the modalities for this. At present, the scheme covers all establishments with 10 workers or more. But labour secretary Shankar Agarwal said that non-insured persons can also be covered under the scheme. “No fresh amendments are required to the ESI Act, the provision was already incorporated through an earlier amendment,” he said. The ESI scheme provides full medical benefits to the worker and family members and also other benefits for disablement, maternity and sickness.

The labour ministry also plans to include uncovered states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and uncovered districts would also be included in the scheme.

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“The ESI scheme is functioning based on industrial clusters. Now all 393 districts in the country will be covered by March 31, 2016,” said labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya on Tuesday.

Additionally, the ministry will also include self employed workers such as auto rickshaw drivers, car drivers and rickshaw pullers under the scheme. A pilot scheme is expected to start in Delhi and Hyderabad from November this year.

However, the demand by trade unions to include ASHA, anganwadi and mid-day meal workers for the benefits is still pending with the ministry.

The move is expected to vastly increase the coverage of the scheme to about 5 crore insured persons or members under the ESI scheme and nearly 25 to 30 crore beneficiaries (or family members).