Making the announcement at the State level workshop on RSBY here on Friday, Union Labour Minister Mallikarjuna Kharge said that though there was a delay in launching the scheme in Karnataka, the State had done well.
“The RSBY has been appreciated in the G20 Employment and Labour Ministers meeting and many countries including Bangladesh, Maldives, Ghana and Nigeria have come forward to replicate the scheme in their countries,” he said. Even the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has listed the RSBY as one of the top 18 schemes for the labourers.
The minister said that shortly the scheme will be extended to autorickshaw drivers, taxi drivers, rag pickers and sanitation workers in the unorganised sector, he added.
Kharge said nearly Rs 800 crore available under the building and construction workers’ welfare fund has not been utilised.
He said that the funds can be used for labourers’ children. They can be identified and can be given skill-based and employment-based training which would help them in their future.
The objective of RSBY is to provide protection to BPL households from financial liabilities arising out of health problems that involve hospitalization. Beneficiaries under RSBY are entitled to hospitalisation coverage up to Rs 30,000 for most of the diseases that require hospitalisation.
The Government has even fixed the package rates for the hospitals for a large number of interventions.
Pre-existing conditions are covered from day one and there is no age limit. Coverage extends to five members of the family which includes the head of the family, spouse and up to three dependents. Beneficiaries need to pay only Rs 30 as registration fee and the Central and the State Government pay the premium to the insurer selected by the State Government on the basis of a competitive bidding.
As on Friday, 23,632,866 cards have been issued and the total hospitalisation cases were 1,982,346.