The Hindu : National : Cabinet okays Rs. 1,000-cr. more for insurance scheme

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Cabinet okays Rs. 1,000-cr. more for insurance scheme

Special Correspondent

One crore rural landless households will benefit under AABY

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved an additional Rs. 1,000 crore for the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) for including one crore more rural landless households.

The scheme will cover the additional beneficiaries by September 30, 2009. It will provide death and disability benefits to the head of the family or an earning member.

This amount will go towards the premium fund of the insurance scheme maintained with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) for meeting the liability of the Central government, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after the meeting.

The AABY announced in the 2007-08 Union budget, was launched on October 2, 2007 to provide death and disability cover to the rural landless households. The Union government bears 50 per cent of the premium of Rs. 200 per annum per person, and the State governments pay the rest.

The scheme is being implemented through the LIC.

The Cabinet also gave its approval for releasing a sum of Rs. 500 crore towards the Social Security Fund maintained by the LIC to provide for a 50 per cent share of the premium of Rs. 100 per annum per member to provide cover to members of Women Self Help Groups credit-linked to banks under the Janashree Bima Yojana (JBY).

Cover for SHGs

This decision will help provide cover to members of all Women Self Help Groups credit-linked to the banks under the scheme. The scheme will cover 2.50 lakh women SHGs by March 31, 2009, Mr. Dasmunsi said.

The JBY, a social security scheme implemented through the LIC, was launched in August 2000, with the objective of providing life insurance protection to the rural and urban poor under various vocational groups.

The premium under the scheme is Rs. 200 per annum per member. Half of this is paid by the beneficiaries or the nodal agency or the State government and the remaining is met from the Social Security Fund contributed by the Centre and maintained by the LIC.

There are 45 vocational/occupational groups covered under the scheme.

Women associated with the SHGs are one of the vocational groups. It was introduced as a separate vocation/occupation under JBY from July 2006.

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