National employment policy on the anvil: Kharge

The policy is being prepared by the Department of Planning and cabinet approval would be sought once it is ready, the minister said.

Kharge also said that the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) scheme is proposed to be extended in a phased manner to workers in hazardous mines such as slate and mica, as well as beedi workers, autorickshaw and taxi drivers, ragpickers, domestic workers and rickshaw pullers.

As of the last month-end, RSBY cards have been issued to 2.35 crore families under below-poverty-line (BPL), he said.

The scheme offers cashless health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 to a BPL family of five to meet hospital expenses in treatment from any public or private hospital empanelled under the scheme throughout the country, officials said.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has picked up the scheme as one of the social security scheme of the world for publication, they said.

Kharge was speaking at a news conference just after flying back from Geneva, where he attended the 100th International Labour Conference, Meeting of Ministers of Labour of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), IBSA (India Brazil South Africa) meeting and G-20 meeting of Labour and Employment Ministers.

Kharge said several countries, including Nigeria, Iran, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were impressed by the RSBY scheme, which they wanted to implement back home.

"We are ready to give them the know-how and expertise on how we run the scheme in India," the minister said.

He also said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) came in for praise at the Geneva conference and meetings.

Meanwhile, Kharge said if the Karnataka government provided up to five acres land in Bangalore, his ministry is ready to invest Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore to establish buildings for housing regional and zonal offices of Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance Corporation.