New Delhi: The 189th Meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation was held today at ESIC Headquarters under the Chairmanship of Bhupender Yadav, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change. During the meeting several important initiatives were announced.
Acknowledging the considerable increase in the number of Insured Workers and their dependents coming under the ambit of ESI Scheme, Bhupender Yadav, Union Labour Minister directed ESIC to lay emphasis on strengthening the infrastructure. He further informed that ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative has been started to strengthen and modernize the infrastructure of ESIS hospitals and dispensaries in a phased manner. During the meeting, Rameswar Teli, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, and Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, informed that the latest technologies are proposed to be adopted by ESIC for construction and monitoring of projects using drones and online real time dashboard.
With the vision to improve the healthcare and benefits services delivery mechanism and strengthen the infrastructure of ESIC towards managing the increasing number of insured workers coming into the ambit of ESI Scheme, ESIC approved the proposals for setting up new 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Shyamlibazar, Agartala, Tripura and 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Idukki, Kerala. The 100 bedded ESIC Hospitals at Agartala and Idukki will cater to the medical needs of around 60 thousand beneficiaries each.
Considering the significant increase in the number of candidates for admissions under Ward of IPs Quota in ESIC Medical Institutions, the Corporation approved the proposal of increasing the number of seats under Wards of Insured Persons (IPs) category in two of its ESIC Nursing Colleges at Gulbarga and Bengaluru. Further, the ESI Corporation also approved the proposal to start Ph.D., MDS, nursing and paramedical courses in its medical institutions spread across country.
At a Glance
- ESIC to upgrade and modernize its infrastructure under ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative says Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav
- ESIC to set up new 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Shyamlibazar, Agartala, Tripura and 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Idukki, Kerala
- ESIC to increase the number of seats for Ward of Insured Persons at ESIC Nursing Colleges and also to start Ph.D., MDS, Nursing and Paramedical Courses from coming sessions
- Approval accorded for investments of surplus funds in equity, restricted to Exchanged Traded Funds
- Monthly Digital Journal – ESI Samachar released by Union Labour and Employment Minister
Due to the relatively low returns on debt instruments coupled with the need to diversify, the ESI Corporation accorded its approval for investments of surplus funds in equity, restricted to Exchanged Traded Funds. The initial investment shall start at 5% and increase up to 15% gradually, after review of two quarters. The investment will be confined in Exchanged Traded Funds i.e., Nifty50 and Sensex. It will be managed by Fund Managers of AMCs. The equity investment will be monitored by existing Custodian, External Concurrent Auditor and Consultant looking after the debt investments in addition to the management of ETF for equity.
ESI Corporation accorded in-principal approval for execution of Annual Repair Maintenance & Operational work (ARMO) and Special Repair (SR) works by the Engineering Wing under the Project Management Division (PMD) of ESI Corporation. It was also decided to execute the Capital works in ESIC through Central / State PSUs besides CPWD. A fresh empanelment of such Central / State PSU will be invited by the ESIC for empanelment in due course.
Two winners of the Architectural Design Competition for 500 bedded ESIC Hospital, Manesar were felicitated by the Union Labour Minister with a prize money of Rs. 2 Lakh and Rs. 1.5 Lakh respectively. The design competition was announced by Union Labour Minister during laying the foundation for 500 bedded ESIC Hospital at Manesar. The competition was conducted to encourage and give opportunities to young architect students to come up with the best architectural designs for ESIC Hospital, Manesar. Similar type of competition is also being organized for ESIC Hospitals, Sanand and Kalol, Gujarat.
During the meeting Bhupender Yadav released the first issue of the monthly digital journal of ESIC – ‘ESI Samachar’.
The Annual Accounts of the Corporation for the year 2021-22 together with the report of CAG and Annual Report of ESI Corporation for the year 2021-22 along with its analysis were approved and adopted by the Corporation. It will now be laid in the Parliament after approval of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India.
The meeting was attended by Dola Sen, MP, Ram Kripal Yadav, MP, Khagen Murmu, MP,. Arti Ahuja, Secretary (L&E), Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Director General, ESIC and Dr. M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi. Principal Secretaries/Secretaries of the State Governments, Representatives of Employers, Employees and Experts of the medical field were also present during the meeting.
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