ESIC beneficiaries can access 30K hospitals empanelled with AB-PMJAY: Minister
By TIOL News Service
NEW DELHI, SEP 16, 2024: UNION Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a regional meeting on labour reforms and employment with 05 western States/Union Territories (UTs) viz. Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep in Rajkot, Gujarat today. This meeting is 3rd in a series of six regional meetings being organized the Ministry of Labour & Employment nation-wide with the States/UTs to discuss key labour and employment issues.
Insightful discussions on key issues including Labour Reforms, e-Shram, Building and other Construction Workers (BoCW), National Career Service (NCS) portal, Employment Generation and Measurement, and Employees State Insurance Corporation/Scheme (ESIC/ESIC) were held during the meeting.
In his address, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya emphasized that the Government of India is committed to providing comprehensive and easily accessible social protection coverage to all workers in both organized and unorganized sectors. He further mentioned that the Ministry is working with States/UTs towards expanding services and benefits of ESIC to all districts in the nation. Greater coordination amongst the Centre, States and UTs to leverage Information Technology (IT) including Artificial Intelligence (AI) for facilitating beneficiaries in access to quality services, is the need of the hour, he added. He mentioned ESIC's Dhanwantari portal will be strengthened for advanced data management in line with global standards.
Chaired a meeting in Rajkot today with high officials from various states and union territories to address key labor issues. Our government is committed to enhancing social security and welfare schemes for our workers nationwide. pic.twitter.com/c9pAXBWvbj
- Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 15, 2024
Union Minister highlighted that convergence between ESIS and Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) is being planned. "Under this policy, ESIC/ESIS beneficiaries will have access to quality medical facilities in more than 30,000 hospitals empanelled with AB-PMJAY. This will eliminate distinctions with respect to access to services offered by Government, Public Sector and Private Hospitals, allowing the beneficiaries to efficiently receive treatment in any empanelled hospital," he further stated.
Dr. Mandaviya highlighted the remarkable progress in the usage of the NCS portal, which provides a variety of public employment services like job search & matching, career counselling, vocational guidance etc. He said that more than 16 lakh active vacancies are available on NCS and more than 3 crore vacancies have been mobilized till date. Government of India is working towards upgrading the NCS portal with advanced technologies including AI and integrating it with e-Shram, for making it the preferred destination for employers and job-seekers in terms of job-matching in both organized and unorganized sectors, he added.
Union Minister mentioned that States/UTs and the Centre should work together to set up a mechanism for timely compilation of more accurate employment related data. This data should feed into a centralized dashboard equipped with advanced analytics, simulation, forecasting and modelling, which would be accessible to the Centre and States/UTs, thus, facilitating them in framing more effective policies for generation of employment, he stated.
Dr. Mandaviya stated that since the States/UTs are implementation agencies for majority of welfare, social protection, and employment schemes/measures and thus, have their ears to the ground, they should strengthen the mechanism of collection of feedback from beneficiaries of schemes. There is need for establishing more frequent dialogue between the Centre and the States/UTs for sharing of such feedback, experiences, challenges and best practices for consistent improvement in the design and execution of such schemes/ measures, he mentioned.
Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Labour & Employment (L&E) set the context for the meeting by emphasizing the need for greater collaboration amongst the States/UTs and the Central Government to expedite the implementation of labour reforms, for which Government of India has taken the landmark initiative of modernizing, simplifying and consolidating 29 Labour Laws into 04 Labour Codes.
Emphasizing that by 2030, the working-age population of India is projected to constitute about 65% of the total population, Dawra highlighted that the Government of India is committed to facilitating generation of quality employment and skill development. "The Government of India has announced 05 Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) schemes with an outlay of Rs. 2 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2024-2025 with dual objectives of supporting businesses in generating formal employment while empowering youth to avail skilling, quality jobs and social protection", she added.
Secretary, L&E discussed the progress of the e-Shram portal, noting that over 30 crore unorganised workers have registered since its 2021 launch. She urged States/UTs to integrate with the portal, highlighting its role in providing access to welfare schemes, as outlined in the Union Budget 2024-25. Additionally, she emphasized the BoCW MIS portal's role in data-driven planning and urged States to update worker data and expedite fund utilization for BoC workers' welfare, including educational infrastructure.
The meeting concluded with representatives of States/UTs sharing their ideas, insights and best practices, on a range of key labour and employment issues. They appreciated the Government of India for reaching out to them through the regional meetings and extending greater support in the implementation of ongoing reforms in their respective States/UTs.
Mr. Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary, L&E expressed gratitude to the representatives of States/UTs for their encouraging participation and expressed his appreciation for the Rajkot administration for supporting in the successful organization of the meeting.
The next meeting is the ongoing series of regional consultations with States/UTs is scheduled to be held in Bhubaneswar for the eastern States/UTs in the following week.
