Govt to give life insurance cover up to Rs 35 Lakh to FCI officials, labourers amid coronavirus lockdown, says Ram Vilas Paswan

Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Friday announced a life insurance cover of up to Rs 35 lakh per person to over 1 lakh FCI officials and labourers in case they succumb to coronavirus after six months of performing duty from the day of lockdown on March 24.

State-owned Food Corporation of India (FCI) is the Centre's nodal agency that is engaged in procurement of foodgrains at a minimum support price (MSP) directly from farmers and distributes the same at a subsidised rate to over 81 crore ration card holders in the country.

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Currently, there is a provision to provide compensation to family members of FCI officials in case of death due to terrorist attack, bomb blast, mob violence and natural disasters. However, regular and contractual labourers are not included.

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"It has been decided to provide Jeevan Bhima Surakha (Life Insurance cover) to over one lakh FCI officials including 80,000 labourers working in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis," Paswan said in a statement. The life insurance cover will be given to those who succumb to the coronavirus after performing duty for six months from the day of the lockdown on March 24, he said.