ESI to spend Rs 500 crore on networking plan

Indranil Chakraborty in Kolkata

Employees' State Insurance Corp (ESI), the social security outfit for 3 crore 34 lakh employees and their families will spend around Rs 500 crore over the next few years to implement information technology in its offices, hospitals, and diagnostic centres, dispensaries spread all over the country. This was stated by Mr PL Kaul, director, public relations, Employees State Insurance Corp.

Mr Kaul told The Financial Express that the ultimate aim was to network all ESI activities ranging from local and regional offices to dispensaries and hospitals.

“We have 670 local offices, 27 regional offices, 14,000 doctors and 68,000 employees and paramedics working in 140 hospitals and 13,000 employees in offices. We plan to implement computerisation at all levels to help the employees derive the maximum benefit from the ESI scheme,” Mr Kaul said.

Said ESI director Dr Suman Swaroop, to begin with information technology would be implemented in 10 hospitals at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakh per hospital.

Said Dr Swaroop, “We launched our Website in December 2000, and in the next two years we will have a system where the status of the deposits of employees and employers’ share can be accessed through the computer. This will help us monitor defaulters, as well as to create an efficient information system for the employees.”

At present, ESI has already computerised its regional offices and the work on computerisation of its records in local offices will start soon.
Mr kaul also said that ESI had also thought about implementing smart-cards for its employees.