Union government extends 'Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana' unemployment allowance scheme till June 2022

Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 11

The Union government has extended the ‘Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana’ to June 2022.

This is a scheme for unemployment allowance paid at 50 per cent of wages for three months to those insured people who lose their jobs for any reason.

Informing about the decision taken during a meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav said: “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”.

With the hindsight of a health emergency during the second wave of Covid pandemic, the ESIC meeting presided over by Yadav also decided to allow referral of patients to empanelled private medical providers where in-house facilities in ESIC hospitals are not available.

Also, wherever any ESI facility is at a distance of more than 10 km from the in-house patient (IP), patients can directly approach the empanelled hospitals for treatment.

The functioning of the ESIC hospitals and their facilities across the country had alleged proved to be inadequate during the second wave surge of the Covid. The ESI subscribers had to take recourse to private medical establishments and health service providers.

The Central trade unions and other stakeholders had flayed the government for the shortcomings in ESIC hospitals.

The issue was taken seriously after a change of guard in the Union Labour and Employment Ministry with Yadav assuming charge as new minister.