The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) today launched Mobile Clinic Services for the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Union minister of state for labour and employment Bandaru Dattatreya, launched the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services by flagging off ‘Jan Suraksha Vans/Ambulances’ that would serve the areas not covered by ESI dispensaries in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The minister said, “It is for the first time in the country that the ESIC Mobile Clinic Services are launched in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and the mobile clinics will be expanded and launched across the country by all ESI hospitals.”
Out of the total 13 mobile clinics, eight clinics would serve in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Warangal, Khammam, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts in Telangana state and five clinics would serve in Chittoor, Prakasam, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Nellore and Anantapur districts in Andhra Pradesh.
Each mobile clinic will have a vehicle with a doctor, pharmacist, attendant, driver and the necessary equipment and medicines, he said.
The vehicle will visit two locations in a day for three hours each and do basic investigations. Each location will be covered twice in a week, the minister said.
The minister further said that under the Employees State Insurance (ESI) scheme, employers contribution (to ESI corpus every month) has been brought down to 3 per cent of the wages from 4.75 per cent, while employees contribution rate has been reduced to 1 per cent from 1.75 per cent.
Dattatreya said the ESIC hospital here is providing quality health services to its beneficiaries and added the number of beds would be increased to 500 at the ESIC Medical College here.
To extend its services the ESIC is also planning to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with state-run NIMS here, he said.
He said the government has already raised the salary cap of ESI beneficiaries to Rs 21,000 per month from Rs 15,000 and has taken up new initiatives for the benefit of women employees.
The Ministry is planning for third generation reforms for workers in the unorganised sector. There are 4.30 crore workers in the construction sector and out of them 1.80 crore workers have been registered, Dattatreya said.
He also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ensuring legal status to National OBCs Commission.
“The Government is sincere towards upliftment of OBCs rather than using them as vote banks like other parties,” said Dattatreya.
