Employees' State Insurance
Encyclopedia
Employees' State Insurance scheme (ESI, Hindi: कर्मचारी राज्य बीमा) is a self-financing social security
and health insurance
scheme for Indian
workers. For all regular employees earning less than 15,000 per month salary, the employers and employees contribute a fixed percentage of the salary. This fund is managed by the ESI Corporation, which oversees the provision of medical and other benefits to the employees, through its large network of dispensaries and hospitals throughout India.
ESI was started in India in 1948, initially for factory workers. It now provides social security to employees from all industries, covering 12.5 million employees working with about 400,000 employers. Total beneficiaries as of 2008-09 are above 50 million. The employees registered under the scheme are entitled to medical treatment for themselves and their dependants, unemployment cash benefit in certain contingencies, and maternity benefit in case of women employees. In case of employment-related disablement
or death, there is provision for a disablement benefit
and a family pension
, respectively.
Outpatient medical facilities are available in 1398 ESI dispensaries, and through 1678 empanelled private medical practitioners. Inpatient care is available in 145 ESI Hospitals and 42 Hospital annexes; a total of 19387 beds. In addition, several state government hospitals also have beds for exclusive use of ESI Beneficiaries. Cash benefits can be availed in any of 783 ESI centres located throughout India.
Recent years have seen increasing role of information technology in ESI, with the introduction of Pehchan smart cards in 'Project Panchdeep', India's largest e-governance project. In addition to insured workers, poor families eligible under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
can also avail facilities in ESI hospitals and dispensaries. There are plans to open medical, nursing and paramedical schools in ESI hospitals.
Director General - Shri C.S. Kedar, IAS
Financial Commissioner - Shri Rajiv Dutt, IRAS
Medical Commissioner - Dr. J. N. Mahanty
Insurance Commissioner - Shri Bimal Kumar Sahu
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
and health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
scheme for Indian
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
workers. For all regular employees earning less than 15,000 per month salary, the employers and employees contribute a fixed percentage of the salary. This fund is managed by the ESI Corporation, which oversees the provision of medical and other benefits to the employees, through its large network of dispensaries and hospitals throughout India.
ESI was started in India in 1948, initially for factory workers. It now provides social security to employees from all industries, covering 12.5 million employees working with about 400,000 employers. Total beneficiaries as of 2008-09 are above 50 million. The employees registered under the scheme are entitled to medical treatment for themselves and their dependants, unemployment cash benefit in certain contingencies, and maternity benefit in case of women employees. In case of employment-related disablement
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
or death, there is provision for a disablement benefit
Disability benefits
In the United Kingdom disability benefits are benefits paid to a person who is sick or who has a disability. Disability benefits include;* Disability Living Allowance* Attendance Allowance* Incapacity Benefit* Severe Disablement Allowance...
and a family pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
, respectively.
Outpatient medical facilities are available in 1398 ESI dispensaries, and through 1678 empanelled private medical practitioners. Inpatient care is available in 145 ESI Hospitals and 42 Hospital annexes; a total of 19387 beds. In addition, several state government hospitals also have beds for exclusive use of ESI Beneficiaries. Cash benefits can be availed in any of 783 ESI centres located throughout India.
Recent years have seen increasing role of information technology in ESI, with the introduction of Pehchan smart cards in 'Project Panchdeep', India's largest e-governance project. In addition to insured workers, poor families eligible under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana is a government-run health insurance scheme for the Indian poor. It provides for cashless insurance for hospitalisation in public as well private hospitals. The scheme started enrolling on April 1, 2008 and has been implemented in 25 states of India...
can also avail facilities in ESI hospitals and dispensaries. There are plans to open medical, nursing and paramedical schools in ESI hospitals.
Director General - Shri C.S. Kedar, IAS
Financial Commissioner - Shri Rajiv Dutt, IRAS
Medical Commissioner - Dr. J. N. Mahanty
Insurance Commissioner - Shri Bimal Kumar Sahu