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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Health plan success may lead to wider spread for more schemes by Amiti Sen

Health plan success may lead to wider spread for more schemes by Amiti Sen

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published Published on May 2, 2011   modified Modified on May 2, 2011
The government is examining the possibility of turning its two important social sector programmes into universal schemes covering the unorganised sector in phases, taking a cue from the successful extension of a health insurance plan to 23 million poor families.

The labour ministry will prepare a feasibility plan together with the rural and finance ministries that run the old age pension scheme for the below poverty line people and the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) targeting the rural landless.

"The idea is in its conceptualization stage. We have to carry out studies and discuss all details, including funding options, with the rural development and finance ministries," labour secretary P C Chaturvedi told ET.

The insurance plan provides death and disability cover to one member of rural landless households while the Indira Gandhi old age pension scheme gives 400 to people over 65 years in the BPL category.

"We want the schemes to be extended to the entire unorganized sector, but it has to be done in phases," Chaturvedi said.

The issue may be taken up at the next meeting of the Naional Social Security Board , which is headed by the labour minister and has representatives from various ministries, including agriculture, rural development, urban development and housing and poverty alleviation.

The government has attained some amount of success in extending health cover to the poor through the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana run by the labour ministry that provides Rs 30,000 health insurance to poor families through smart cards. The scheme, initially targeted at the BPL population, is now being extended to various unorganised sections such as construction workers, coolies and domestic workers. In fact, it is the success of the RSBY that has been successfully extended to 23 million poor families in 330 districts in 27 states, that has prompted the labour ministry to plan an extension of the other two schemes.

"Since we have already created a database through the distribution of smart cards under RSBY and are building on it, the same infrastructure can be used for universalisation of the other two schemes," Chaturvedi said.

According to Subhash Bhatnagar from the National Campaign Committee for unorganised sector worker , extending the two schemes to all unarganised workers will help beef up the grossly inadequate social security cover available to the country's poor provided it is properly implemented. "It should not end up being a revenue earner for insurance companies, while workers struggle to get benefits," he said.

Linking the two schemes with the smart cards given under RSBY was good as the card made the scheme portable. "The card makes it possible for a migrant worker working in a particular state to move to another and continue to be part of the scheme," he said.

Under the old age pension scheme, the Centre provides Rs 200 pension per month to BPL population over 65 years of age and the states are advised to contribute the same amount.

Under the AABY, the head of a rural landless family is insured and the nominee is assured Rs 30,000 if the insured dies a natural death and 75,000 in case of death due to accident or total permanent disability. Both the state and Centre share the annual premium amount of Rs 200.

The Economic Times, 2 May, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/health-plan-success-may-lead-to-wider-spread-for-more-schemes/articleshow/8138167.cms


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