The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch three ambitious Social Security Schemes pertaining to the insurance and pension sector on 9th May 2015 at Kolkata.
This would be a path breaking initiative towards providing affordable universal access to essential social security protection in a convenient manner linked to auto-debit facility from the bank account of the subscriber. The two insurance schemes to be launched, namely Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY would provide insurance cover in the unfortunate event of death by any cause/death or disability due to an accident respectively , whereas the pension scheme, Atal Pension Yojana (APY), would address old age income security needs. The convenient delivery mechanism of the schemes is expected to address the situation of very low coverage of life/accident insurance and old age income security products in the country.

Besides the launch function at Kolkatta, simultaneous launch functions of the Schemes will also be held at 116 locations in the Capital and other major centres of the different States and at District Headquarters. Chief Ministers and Union Ministers will attend the functions at various locations in the country. Senior Union Ministers including the Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh (Lucknow), Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley (Mumbai), External Affairs Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj (Bhopal), Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shri Venkaiah Naidu (Varanasi), Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Shri Ramvilas Paswan(Patna), Road Transport and Highways Minister Shri Nitin Gadkari (Bhagalpur), Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship(Independent Charge) Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy (Delhi), Health and Family Welfare Minister Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda (Shimla), Minority Affairs Minister Smt. Najma Heptulla (Srinagar), Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Shri Ananth Kumar (Bengaluru), Minister of State for Commerce and Industry (Independent Charge) Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman (Thiruvanthapuram), Agriculture Minister Shri Radhamohan Singh (Chennai), Minister of State for Power and Coal (Independent Charge) Shri Piyush Goyal (Coimbatore) and Minister of State for Minority and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (Allahabad) will attend the launch functions among others at these locations.

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NEW DELHI: Take-home salaries of millions of workers could rise with the government moving to free employees from compulsory coverage in a state-run healthcare programme that costs them 6.5% on a cost to company basis, and give them the choice to buy a health insurance product from an insurance firm instead.

The government has called a meeting of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Tuesday to approve amendments to this effect in the ESI Act of 1948, India’s first social security legislation. If ratified, the change could throw up a major opportunity for the country’s $2 billion health insurance business. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had declared the government’s intent to allow employees to exercise their individual choice in health insurance in his Budget speech.

“We intend to bring amending legislation in this regard, after stakeholder consultation,” he had said. “We have proposed adding two new sections to the law that gives employees a one-time option to opt for a health insurance product regulated by the IRDA. Employers would have to submit proof of such alternate coverage,” said a senior government official, adding that workers would be allowed to return to the ESI fold if they are not satisfied with the health insurance coverage. “However, such aswitch-back to the scheme would be allowed only once.

We are also putting in a safeguard, so that employers can’t force workers to opt for either the ESI or a health insurance product as a pre-condition for employment,” he added. About 60% of India’s organised sector workforce or 1.74 crore employees are covered by the ESIC, which offers medical care to them and their dependents along with unemployment benefits in case of disablement or occupational accidents, including fatal ones. The law mandates employers to contribute 4.75% of an employees’ gross salary (up to Rs.15,000 per month) with a 1.75% matching premium payment from employees. In return, members get access to ESIC’s 151 hospitals and 1,380 dispensaries around the country.

Trade unions are annoyed with the haste in which the corporation meeting has been scheduled. “We got a notice about the meeting on April 2, after which there have been a slew of government holidays. Moreover, any amendments to the law are usually debated by our board first. This is the first time that the government is bringing amendments to the table,” said the general secretary of a major trade union, who is on the ESIC board.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

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