The government announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated, laid the foundation stone, and dedicated 28 significant projects valued at ₹3,921 crore under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) this year.
Expansion of ESIC Medical Infrastructure
In 2024, ESIC granted in-principle approval for the establishment of 10 new ESIC medical colleges in:
– Andheri, Maharashtra
– Basaidarapur, Delhi
– Guwahati-Beltola, Assam
– Indore, Madhya Pradesh
– Jaipur, Rajasthan
– Ludhiana, Punjab
– Naroda-Bapunagar, Gujarat
– Noida and Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
– Ranchi, Jharkhand
Over the last decade, ESIC has also approved the setup of 97 new ESI hospitals across the country, significantly enhancing healthcare accessibility.
Convergence with Ayushman Bharat
To improve access to quality medical care, ESIC is working towards integration with the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). This collaboration is expected to benefit over 14.43 crore ESI beneficiaries and their families. Under the partnership, beneficiaries will have access to secondary and tertiary healthcare services at more than 30,000 AB-PMJAY-empanelled hospitals, with no financial limits on treatment costs, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Growth in Employee Enrolments
In October 2023, approximately 17.80 lakh new employees were enrolled under the ESIC scheme, reflecting a 3% year-on-year growth in net registrations compared to the same period last year. Notably, 47.75% of the new registrations (8.50 lakh employees) were in the age group of up to 25 years. Gender-wise analysis showed that 3.52 lakh female employees were newly enrolled during the month.
ESIC’s Expanding Reach
The ESI scheme currently provides healthcare services through:
– 165 hospitals
– 1,590 dispensaries
– 105 dispensary-cum-branch offices (DCBOs)
– Approximately 2,900 empanelled private hospitals
Over the past decade, ESIC’s reach has expanded from 393 districts in 2014 to 687 districts out of the 788 in the country.
This expansion reflects the government’s commitment to improving healthcare accessibility and coverage for workers across India.
