4-Dec-2022: 189th Meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) chaired by Union Minister of Labour and Employment Shri Bhupender Yadav

The 189th Meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation was held today at ESIC Headquarters under the Chairmanship of Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. During the meeting several important initiatives were announced.

Acknowledging the considerable increase in the number of Insured Workers and their dependents coming under the ambit of ESI Scheme, Shri Bhupender Yadav, Union Labour Minister directed ESIC to lay emphasis on strengthening the infrastructure. He further informed that ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative has been started to strengthen and modernize the infrastructure of ESIS hospitals and dispensaries in a phased manner. During the meeting, Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, informed that the latest technologies are proposed to be adopted by ESIC for construction and monitoring of projects using drones and online real time dashboard.

With the vision to improve the healthcare and benefits services delivery mechanism and strengthen the infrastructure of ESIC towards managing the increasing number of insured workers coming into the ambit of ESI Scheme, ESIC approved the proposals for setting up new 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Shyamlibazar, Agartala, Tripura and 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Idukki, Kerala. The 100 bedded ESIC Hospitals at Agartala and Idukki will cater to the medical needs of around 60 thousand beneficiaries each.

Considering the significant increase in the number of candidates for admissions under Ward of IPs Quota in ESIC Medical Institutions, the Corporation approved the proposal of increasing the number of seats under Wards of Insured Persons (IPs) category in two of its ESIC Nursing Colleges at Gulbarga and Bengaluru. Further, the ESI Corporation also approved the proposal to start Ph.D., MDS, nursing and paramedical courses in its medical institutions spread across country.

Due to the relatively low returns on debt instruments coupled with the need to diversify, the ESI Corporation accorded its approval for investments of surplus funds in equity, restricted to Exchanged Traded Funds. The initial investment shall start at 5% and increase up to 15% gradually, after review of two quarters. The investment will be confined in Exchanged Traded Funds i.e., Nifty50 and Sensex. It will be managed by Fund Managers of AMCs. The equity investment will be monitored by existing Custodian, External Concurrent Auditor and Consultant looking after the debt investments in addition to the management of ETF for equity.

ESI Corporation accorded in-principal approval for execution of Annual Repair Maintenance & Operational work (ARMO) and Special Repair (SR) works by the Engineering Wing under the Project Management Division (PMD) of ESI Corporation. It was also decided to execute the Capital works in ESIC through Central / State PSUs besides CPWD. A fresh empanelment of such Central / State PSU will be invited by the ESIC for empanelment in due course.

Two winners of the Architectural Design Competition for 500 bedded ESIC Hospital, Manesar were felicitated by the Union Labour Minister with a prize money of Rs. 2 Lakh and Rs. 1.5 Lakh respectively. The design competition was announced by Union Labour Minister during laying the foundation for 500 bedded ESIC Hospital at Manesar. The competition was conducted to encourage and give opportunities to young architect students to come up with the best architectural designs for ESIC Hospital, Manesar. Similar type of competition is also being organized for ESIC Hospitals, Sanand and Kalol, Gujarat.

During the meeting Shri Bhupender Yadav released the first issue of the monthly digital journal of ESIC – ‘ESI Samachar’.

The Annual Accounts of the Corporation for the year 2021-22 together with the report of CAG and Annual Report of ESI Corporation for the year 2021-22 along with its analysis were approved and adopted by the Corporation. It will now be laid in the Parliament after approval of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.

The meeting was attended by Ms. Dola Sen, MP, Shri Ram Kripal Yadav, MP, Shri Khagen Murmu, MP, Ms. Arti Ahuja, Secretary (L&E), Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, ESIC and Dr. M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi. Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of the State Governments, Representatives of Employers, Employees and Experts of the medical field were also present during the meeting.

7-Nov-2022: Vigilance Awareness Week successfully conducted at ESIC

The closing ceremony of ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ (31.10.2022 – 06.11.2022) was held on 07th November, 2022 at ESIC Headquarters. Shri Suresh N. Patel, Central Vigilance Commissioner graced the function as the Chief Guest. The other dignitaries who graced the event were Shri P. Daniel, Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission, Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, ESIC, Shri A. K. Kanoujia, Addl. Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission, Ms. T. L. Yaden, Financial Commissioner, ESIC and Shri Manoj Kumar Singh, Chief Vigilance Officer, ESIC along with other senior officers of ESIC. All the Field Offices and Hospitals/Medical Colleges joined the function through on-line mode.

The ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ commenced with taking Integrity Pledge on 31st October, 2022. Various activities viz. Essay Writing Competition, Quiz, Painting Competition and Debate were also conducted during the whole week to instill the theme of “Corruption Free India for a Developed Nation” and to increase awareness among the various stakeholders to fight the menace of corruption. Besides conducting activities during the Vigilance Awareness Week, ESIC also started observing 03 months precursor campaign to Vigilance Awareness Campaign from 16.08.2022 to 15.11.2022. During precursor campaign also, various activities focusing on preventive vigilance cum internal housekeeping were conducted.

In his speech, during the event, Shri Suresh N. Patel, Central Vigilance Commissioner said that corruption has to be eradicated completely to see India developed. He also added that individuals should maintain their integrity throughout their life. Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, ESIC emphasized on leveraging the latest technologies in providing services in more transparent manner by minimizing human intervention. He also said that the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation is striving to ensure not only a corruption free environment to everyone but also provide the best quality of services.

Shri P. Daniel, Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission appreciated the work done and measures taken by ESIC and said that with the use of technology the menace of corruption can be combatted effectively. He emphasized on the three-pronged approach of Central Vigilance Commission viz. Punitive Vigilance, Preventive Vigilance and Participative Vigilance for realizing a corruption free India. Shri. A. K. Kanoujia, Addl. Secretary applauded the efforts of ESIC for providing Social Security benefits to the weaker sections of the society. He advised to execute the daily jobs honestly and diligently, follow proper GFR Rules and go by the manuals for living a corruption free life.

Shri Manoj Kumar Singh, Chief Vigilance Officer, ESIC during his introductory speech said that around 356 pending vigilance complaints were disposed of during the 03-month long precursor campaign on ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’.

4-Oct-2022: Dr. Rajendra Kumar takes over the charge of Director General, ESIC

Dr. Rajendra Kumar, a senior IAS officer from Tamil Nadu Cadre (Batch : 1992) took over the charge of Director General of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India at its Headquarters on 04.10.2022 in New Delhi. Before assuming the charge of Director General, ESIC, Dr. Rajendra Kumar, IAS has served as an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) in the Government of India.

Upon taking charge he chaired a meeting of the senior officers and said that ESIC should look after the workers well and provide the best quality services to them so as to make a positive impact on the society.  He stressed upon improving its service delivery mechanism, by augmenting technology and ensuring adequate presence across the country.

Dr Rajendra Kumar has got vast experience of governance and management of District & State level Organisations. He has also served as the Principal Secretary in the Departments of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Youth Welfare & Sports Development in the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Dr. Rajendra Kumar, has a Ph. D in International Economic Development and Regional Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, an    M. Tech in Management and Systems from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a B.tech in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur. Besides having an impressive and stupendous academic background, he is also a prolific writer having published a book, several research papers in international journals and articles on technology and policy in leading newspapers and magazines to his credit.

10-Sep-2021: Key decisions announced at the 185th meeting of ESIC

The 185th meeting of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation(ESIC) concluded today held at Rishikesh in Uttarakhand saw a slew of important decisions announced by Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Bhupender Yadav.

Shri Yadav announced approval of 5-acre land parcels for acquisition to set up new 100 bedded ESIC hospitals at Haroholli and Narsapur in Karnataka, seven new ESIC dispensaries for Kerala among other things.

Stating that the government under the guidance and direction of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi is focused and committed towards targeted delivery of services by ensuring last mile deliveries promptly, the Minister further announced that the ‘’Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana’ is now extended up to 30th June 2022. This is a scheme for unemployment allowance paid at 50 percent of wages for 3 months to those insured persons who lose their jobs for any reason. 

During the meeting It was also decided that wherever in-house facilities are not available in ESIC hospitals, patients would be referred to empaneled private medical service providers and furthermore, wherever any ESI facility is at a distance of more than 10 kms from the IP, patients can directly approach the empaneled hospitals for treatment.

One 30 bedded hospital was also approved for Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh and a dedicated earmarked fund was also accorded approval to provide for long term liabilities for the ESIC COVID relief scheme. It was also decided that the ESIC Dental College working from temporary structures at Rohini, in Delhi would be shifted to new building at the ESIC Hospital Basai Dara Pur campus.

The meeting was also attended by Sri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State in the Labour and Employment Ministry, Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha Ms. Dola Sen, Secretary Ministry of Labour and Employment and Information and Broadcasting, Shri Apurva Chandra, Ms. Anuradha Prasad, Special Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment.

10-Jun-2021: ESI coverage for casual and contractual employees of Municipal bodies in the States/UTs​

Union Minister of State (I/c) for Labour and Employment Shri Santosh Gangwar today announced the decision to extend coverage under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (ESI Act) to all casual and contractual workers working in the municipal bodies in the country. He said, the ESI Corporation has been directed to take up the matter with the States/ UTs, being the appropriate Government(s) under the ESI Act, for issue of notification for coverage of casual and contractual workers in the Municipal Corporation(s)/ Council(s) in their respective jurisdictions. The coverage shall be extended to those casual and contractual employees/ agencies/ establishments which are within the implemented areas already notified under the ESI Act, 1948 by the Central Government.   ​

For National Capital Region of Delhi, the Central Government being the appropriate government under the ESI Act, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has already issued intention notification dated 7 June, 2021 for coverage under the ESI Act of casual and contractual employees working with Municipal Corporations/ Council in the NCT of Delhi.

The Minister informed that various municipal bodies in different States and Union Territories in the country employ a large number of casual and contractual workers. However, not being regular employees of the Municipal Corporations/Municipal councils, these workers remain out of the social security net making them a vulnerable lot. He said, this important decision has been taken to address this issue.

Shri Gangwar said that ESI coverage of casual and contractual employees working with municipal bodies shall go a long way in providing social security cover to a very vulnerable segment of the workforce. This shall contribute to social upliftment of this segment of workforce and their families.

Once notifications for ESI coverage are issued by the respective States/ UTs, the casual and contractual workers working with municipal bodies will be able to avail the full gamut of benefits available under the ESI Act such as sickness benefit, maternity benefit, disablement benefit, dependent’s benefit, funeral expenses etc. In addition and importantly, these workers will be eligible to avail medical services through vast network of ESI facilities i.e. 160 hospitals and over 1500 dispensaries all over the country.

15-Mar-2021: Health Services Under ESIC

The Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Corporation has decided to expand coverage of ESI Scheme and thereby health services under medical benefit to all the districts of the country in a phased manner.  Further, opening new dispensaries and hospitals to provide services to ESI beneficiaries is an on-going process.

Apart from beneficiaries of ESI schemes, health services of under-utilized ESIC hospitals have been made available to non-Insured Person (IPs).

The ESIC facilities are being given to the employees working in the factories and establishments covered under the ESI Act, 1948 and drawing wage upto Rs.21000/- per month (Rs.25,000/- per month for persons with disability). The following steps have been taken by the ESIC for bringing maximum  number of employees under ESIC coverage :-

1. The ESI Scheme has been fully extended to 389 districts where the scheme was partially available at different centres. Apart from that the scheme has also been extended to 186 districts where it is available in district headquarters areas and prominent industrial centres. As a result, the implementation of ESI Scheme has expanded from 393 districts in 2015-16 to 575 districts at present.
2. Survey drive is conducted from time to time for coverage of factories and establishments not covered under the ESI Act.
3. On receipt of any complaint from the workers, Trade Unions etc. regarding non-coverage of factories and establishments or employees, action is taken as per the provisions of the ESI Act, 1948 and the Rules & Regulations framed there under.

1-May-2017: "One IP- Two Dispensaries" launched

Minister of State (I/C) for Labour and Employment, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya launched “One IP- Two Dispensaries” scheme on the occasion of International Labour Day. 

Under One IP- Two Dispensaries scheme ESIC has given an option to an Insured Person (IP) to choose two dispensaries, one for self and another for family through an employer. This will benefit all IPs, especially migrant workers who are working in other than home State, while their families are living in their native States. Because of non-availability of option of second dispensary, the dependant members of family are often deprived of medical benefits. By introducing the concept of ‘One IP- Two Dispensaries’, IP as well as their family members would now be able to get treatment from either of the dispensaries and in case of emergency from any ESI Institution. As of now, around 3 crores IPs are covered under ESIC and total number of beneficiaries i.e. IPs and their family members is over 12 crores.