The Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Bhupender Yadav, has said that the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme would be implemented across the country by the end of 2022.

Yadav participated in the ESI’s 188th meeting held here on Sunday, said that the scheme was being fully implemented in 443 districts and partially in another 153 districts, leaving 148 districts out of the purview of the scheme.

By the end of 2022, the partially implemented and non-implemented districts will be fully covered. The medical care services will be provided through establishing new dispensaries and branch offices (DCBOs), empanelled modified insurance medical practitioners (mIMPs), and hospitals under the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY (Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana) network.

New hospitals

The Minister also said that the ESI Corporation would establish 23 new 100-bed hospitals and 62 dispensaries in different parts of the country. Of these, six will come up in Maharashtra, four in Haryana, one in Andhra Pradesh and two each in Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Besides, the corporation will open dispensaries with five doctors in Maharashtra (48), Delhi (12), and Haryana (2).

At the conference, the corporation also decided to start certificate courses in 10 disciplines at three of its medical colleges in Hyderabad, Chennai, and Faridabad.

“This is aimed at addressing the challenge of a shortage of manpower,” the Labour Ministry said in a statement after the meeting.

The meeting has also decided to allow the insured workers and their family members to avail cashless medical care services at the hospitals empaneled with Ayushman Bharat PMJAY.

Meanwhile, the corporation said it announced 6,400 vacancies, including 2,000 doctors and teaching faculty, in the last eight months for different posts.

The corporation would set up radiation oncology and nuclear medicine departments at its Hyderabad, Chennai, and Faridabad hospitals. It would also set up a 100-bed hospital in Ernakulam.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW