Free health cover for NREGA workers

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New Delhi, Sep 17: After financial inclusion and life insurance cover, workers under the UPA’s government flagship programme National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) will get free health insurance cover.

Over 3.3 crore workers are expected to get health insurance benefit under the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna. The rural development ministry has already informed the labour ministry for inclusion of NREGA workers under the health insurance scheme.

Under the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojna, launched last year and mainly targeted at 40 crore unorganised sector workers, Rs 75,000 would be provided to a victim’s family in the condition of death or in case of permanent disability due to accident. In case of partial disability due to accident, the insurance cover would be Rs 37,500.

Besides all the NREGA workers are being covered under Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY). Recently, the finance ministry has given the nod to cover all workers under the NREGA in the rural poor category so that they could be covered with JBY. JBY provides for life insurance protection to the rural and urban poor persons below poverty line and marginally above the poverty line.

“We have written to labout ministry to include all the NREGA workers for health cover benefits, which would be extended to workers shortly as there are no processing hassles involved,” Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Union rural development minister told FE.