In a major effort towards medical education and healthcare infrastructure, the Union government declared today that ten new medical colleges will be established under the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. The move comes in support of the commitment Prime Minister Narendra Modi made in his Independence Day speech this year to increase new medical seats to 75,000 in the next five years. The announcement by the Labour and Employment Ministry was made on Tuesday.

ESIC In a meeting of ESI corporation, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced a series of important initiatives that are to be done in enhancing the infrastructure and health facilities of ESIC. The inception of these new medical colleges serves as a strategic step that can enhance the quality of medical education and training for aspiring healthcare professionals all across the country.

In addition to the new medical colleges, Mandaviya also announced to extend Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, a scheme that has been providing unemployment allowance to members of the ESI Corporation. The scheme, launched in 2018, will now run for two years from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2026. The provision is considered one of the most crucial assisting mechanisms for the insured looking for other jobs when the job is lost.

The minister further said that the government is keen to provide all support to any worker at any time of their transition in jobs. “The unemployment allowance scheme extension will prove to be crucial support for those who are undergoing some distressing time in their professional life,” Mandaviya said.

The governments will enhance health care services for the ESIC beneficiaries with a convergence program under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) on an all-India basis. Such convergence would ensure that the insurance beneficiaries get comprehensive medical care without any expense when they receive treatment in empanelled hospitals under the PMJAY scheme. This initiative would improve the quality and access of health services provided to millions of wage earners covered under the ESIC.

New ESIC medical colleges and extension of the unemployment allowance scheme will be part of the renewed strategy of the government to further strengthen the healthcare sector and the well-being of workers in general, across the country. These measures come in line with efforts to elevate the standard of health care services and education, and that will eventually help the current, as well as coming generations of medical practitioners.

It will be there to help set up the new colleges and continue with critical support programs which will help form a robust framework for medical education and healthcare services, better equipping India for its dynamic health care needs. Initiatives like these are going to play an important role in shaping a healthier, more skilled workforce as this country moves forward.