Gujarat to extend ESIC coverage to all 31 districts from October 1

Gujarat will include all 31 districts in the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme starting October 1. This step brings social security cover to roughly 8-10 lakh more workers and their families.

This comes after a notice from the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment on September 25, following the Social Security Code, 2020. Right now, 15 districts don't have ESIC services, and 16 only run them in select areas.

Coverage and Benefits

Labour and Employment Minister Kunvarji Bavaliya said ESIC-registered workers in Gujarat will grow from about 21.68 lakh to close to 32 lakh. Counting families, total people getting health and social security help is expected to hit 1.20 crore, up from the current 84 lakh.

Workers who qualify will get free medical care, cash help when sick, maternity money, and disability support. Gujarat has 103 ESIS dispensaries and 11 ESIC/ESIS hospitals now. Plus, 234 community and primary health centres are tied up for basic care.

Infrastructure Updates

Builders are working on a 350-bed ESIC hospital in Sanand and a 150-bed one in Kalol-Gandhinagar. Land for 100-bed hospitals at Halol in Panchmahal and Savli in Vadodara is almost ready. The state will also ask the Centre for new ESIC hospitals in Mehsana, Gandhidham, and Morbi.

Ahmedabad already has an ESIC Medical College running, and work continues on another in Surat. In the last two months, 68 hospitals joined the ESIC list, including 13 government and 55 private ones.

Workers can get free treatment at 900 private and 1,127 government hospitals under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY). A new ESIC office in Rajkot is approved to manage paperwork, payments, and claims for 12 Saurashtra districts.