AMN / WEB DESK
Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has approved the proposals for setting up a new 100 bedded Hospital at Shyamlibazar at Agartala of Tripura and 100 bedded ESIC Hospital at Idukki in Kerala.The 100 bedded ESIC Hospitals at Agartala and Idukki will cater to the medical needs of around 60 thousand beneficiaries each. The approval was given at the 189th Meeting of Employees’ State Insurance Corporation which was chaired by Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav in New Delhi.
ESIC approved the proposal of increasing the number of seats under the Wards of Insured Persons category in two of its ESIC Nursing Colleges at Gulbarga and Bengaluru. Further, the Corporation gave its nod to the proposal to start Ph.D., MDS, nursing, and paramedical courses in its medical institutions spread across the country.
Acknowledging the considerable increase in the number of Insured Workers and their dependents coming under the ambit of ESI Scheme, Mr. Yadav directed ESIC to lay emphasis on strengthening the infrastructure.
The Union Minister further informed that the ‘Nirman Se Shakti’ initiative has been started to strengthen and modernize the infrastructure of hospitals and dispensaries in a phased manner.
During the meeting, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Rameswar Teli informed that the latest technologies are proposed to be adopted by ESIC for the construction and monitoring of projects using drones and online real-time dashboard.
Due to the relatively low returns on debt instruments coupled with the need to diversify, the ESIC also accorded its approval for investments of surplus funds in equity, restricted to Exchanged Traded Funds. The initial investment shall start at 5 per cent and increase up to 15 per cent gradually after a review of two quarters.