Insurance plan to cover domestic helps

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government on Thursday decided to extend the government health insurance scheme to the country’s 4.75 million domestic helps—a move that fits in with its larger entitlement-led social development policies.

According to a senior minister who did not want to be identified, the move is a part of the government’s plan to universalize health insurance. Earlier this month, it extended medical facilities under its flagship health insurance scheme to around 5.5 million workers in the beedi industry and their families.

“The scheme (for domestic workers) envisages smart card based cashless health insurance cover up to Rs.30,000 in any empanelled hospital anywhere in the country,” said a press note released by the government.

The premium of the scheme, which will cover only 10% of the workers in the first year given the scale of the project, will be shared by the Central and state governments in the ratio of 75:25, said labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

“Over four years, the scheme will cost around Rs.297 crore,” he said.

The beneficiaries will have to get identification certificates from any two of the four groups—employers, residents welfare associations, registered trade unions, and police.

The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recommending fixing uniform minimum wages, weekly holidays and annual leave for household helps. Kharge said the government is considering this. Domestic workers—most of them women—are part of India’s huge unorganized labour market, and labour laws do not apply to them.

The Union cabinet which met on Thursday morning also cleared the creation of the National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms, a move that aims to accelerate the judicial process. The mission is expected to ensure the disposal of an estimated 24 million pending cases in five years at a cost of Rs.5,500 crore.

“The objective of the mission is to increase access to justice by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhance accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards,” said an official note.

Although it was on agenda, the Union cabinet deferred a decision on allowing fertilizer companies to decide the maximum retail price of di-ammonium phosphate on Thursday. According to the minister mentioned in the first instance, this was because of the absence of fertilizer minister M.K. Alagiri.


Source:- http://www.livemint.com/2011/06/23234906/Insurance-plan-to-cover-domest.html?atype=tp


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Ankit Wani
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