Karnataka   

Karnataka, Centre ink MoU on health insurance scheme after much delay

Bangalore: The government of Karnataka and the Union government on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding to implement the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), an ambitious health insurance scheme for workers in the unorganised sector.

Labour Minister B.N. Bache Gowda, who signed the agreement, said that the scheme would be launched in five districts in the first phase in 2009-10.

It will be extended to other districts the year after.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the State , headed by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, had announced the scheme in November 2008, but there had been a delay of over a year in its implementation.

The districts to be covered in the first phase are Belgaum, Shimoga, Mysore, Dakshina Kannada and Bangalore Rural.

The scheme envisages cashless health insurance cover up to Rs. 30,000 a year on hospitalisation to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family (a unit of five) in the unorganised sector.

The objective of the scheme is to provide the insurance cover to BPL households from major health shocks that involve hospitalisation. The premium is shared by the Centre and the State in the ratio of 75:25.

The Labour Department is the nodal agency for the scheme.

Speaking to presspersons later, Mr. Gowda said that the State police were investigating the case of the Konega International garment workers. The factory had been locked up illegally without paying the salary arrears and the Provident Fund of the workers. The police had failed to arrest the Bombay-based owner of the factory since he was suspected to have left the country, he said.

Mr. Gowda stated categorically that the government would not be able to help the workers since they were employees of a private firm.

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