The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) was launched on 01.10.2007 to provide smart card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs.30,000 per annum to BPL families (a unit of five) in the unorganized sector. The scheme became operational from 01.04.2008. The scheme has since been extended to building and other construction workers registered under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service), Act and street vendors.
In the Budget for the year 2010-11, the Government has announced to extend benefits of RSBY to all such MNREGA beneficiaries who have worked for more than 15 days during the preceding financial year and to all licensed railway porters, vendors and hawkers, who are from the unorganized sector and are socially challenged.
Policy guidelines have been issued for proper implementation of the scheme to all stakeholders. Various documents viz General documents, operational documents, technical documents, medical procedures have been devised for use of the State Nodal Agencies, Insurance Companies and Service Providers for smooth implementation of the scheme. National, State and regional level workshops are held from time to time to sensitize all concerned and to review the progress of the scheme.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shri Harish Rawat gave this information in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today(10.11.2010)
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