About the Scheme
This scheme is a welfare measure for employees covered under Section 2(9) of the ESI Act, 1948, in the form of relief payment up to 90 days, once in a lifetime. The Scheme was introduced w.e.f. 01-07-2018 on a pilot basis for a period of two years initially.
The scheme has now been extended for another year i.e. from 1st July 2020 to 30th June 2021. It has also been decided to enhance the rate of unemployment relief under the scheme to 50% of wages from an earlier rate of 25% along with relaxation in eligibility conditions, provided the Insured Person should have been in insurable employment for a minimum period of two years immediately before her/his unemployment and should have contributed for not less than 78 days in the contribution period immediately preceding to unemployment and minimum 78 days in one of the remaining three contribution periods in two years prior to unemployment.
In a significant relaxation, relief shall become due for payment after 30 days from the date of unemployment, and the claim can be submitted directly to the designated ESIC Branch Office by the worker. The enhanced benefit and relaxed conditions are applicable during the period 24th March 2020 to 31st December 2020.
Claims to get the relief can be made online at the website www.esic.in along with submission of the physical claim with an affidavit, photocopy of the Aadhaar Card, and Bank Account details to the designated ESIC Branch Office by post or in person.
Eligibility Criteria for Availing the relief
The scheme has been extended for the period from 01.07.2020 to 30.06.2021. In order to provide benefit to the IPs who have become unemployed during the Covid-19 pandemic, the rate of relief has been enhanced and the eligibility conditions have been relaxed as follows for the IPs who became unemployed from 24.03.2020 onwards:-
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- The rate of relief has been doubled from 25 percent to 50 percent average per day earning of the employee.
- The Insured Person should have been in insurable employment for a minimum period of two years immediately before his/ her unemployment and should have contributed for not less than 78 days in the contribution period immediately preceding the unemployment and a minimum of 78 days in one of the remaining three contribution periods in two years prior to unemployment. Earlier this condition was a minimum contribution of 78 days in four contribution periods prior to unemployment with a minimum of two years insurable employment.
- The claim shall become due 30 days after the date of unemployment. Earlier this period was 90 days.
- The claim of the IP need not be forwarded by the employer. The claim may be submitted by an IP in the prescribed claim form duly completed online or directly to the branch office.
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Measures were taken by the Ministry
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- The Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY) Scheme has been launched by the Government to incentivize the creation of new employment along with social security benefits and restoration of loss of employment during the Covid-19 pandemic. This scheme, being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various sectors/industries including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and encourages them to hire more workers. Under ABRY, the government is crediting for a period of two years, both the employees’ share (12% of wages) and employers’ share (12% of wages) of contribution payable or only the employees’ share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.
- The Ministry is also implementing the National Career Service (NCS) Project as a Mission Mode Project to provide a variety of employment-related services in the country like job matching, career counseling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, internships, etc. These services are available online on the National Career Service Portal (www.ncs.gov.in) and accessible by all users including job-seekers, employers, skill providers, career counselors, etc. [/tie_list]
Claim Process
Here is how you can claim Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) under ESI Scheme:
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- In case of the insured person (IP) loses his job, he/she can visit www.esic.in and click on ‘ABVKY Claim Creation’ for relief.
- Enter ‘IP Number’ and ‘Mobile Number’ and click on the ‘Submit’ option.
- If an employee is found eligible, click on ‘Apply for Claim’ by uploading necessary scanned documents online, i.e., copies of Aadhaar and Bank Details.
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Take a printout of the claim and send it along with the required documents physically or by post to the designated Branch Office of ESIC.
- A branch office does necessary verification and if found in order, relief under ABVK shall be paid to such IPs directly in their bank account electronically. [/tie_list]
