ESIC and EDLI Schemes: EXPLAINED - Do you know these NEW COVID 19 benefits?

Amid the Pandemic, families of workers, who died due to COVID-19, to get Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Pension and Insurance Benefits. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced the liberalisation and expansion of various such schemes. 

The families of those, who died due to COVID-19, will get a pension, along with enhanced and liberalised insurance compensation under the Employees State Insurance Corporation, and the Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI), respectively. Let’s understand the new COVID-19 benefits of pension under ESIC and the insurance cover under EDLI in a better way.

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Employees Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) 

To extend the benefits of life insurance to private sector employees, the government introduced the EDLI in 1976. Now, the insurance benefits under the EDLI scheme have been enhanced and liberalised. Apart from all other beneficiaries, this will in particular help the families of employees who have lost their lives due to COVID-19. 

The EDLI is an insurance cover provided by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for private sector salaried employees. The EDLI applies to employees with a basic salary under Rs 15,000 per month. The amount of maximum insurance benefit has been increased from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. The provision of a minimum insurance benefit of Rs 2.5 lakh has been restored and will apply retrospectively from February 15, 2020, for the next three years. 

To benefit families of contractual/ casual workers, the condition of continuous employment in only one establishment has been liberalised, with the benefit being made available to families of even those employees, who may have changed jobs in the last 12 months preceding his death. 

Family Pension under Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) 

To help families, the benefit of the ESIC pension scheme for employment-related death cases is being extended to even those who have died due to COVID-19. Dependent family members of such persons will be entitled to the benefit of pension equivalent to 90 per cent of the average daily wage drawn by the worker as per the existing norms. This benefit will be available retrospectively with effect from March 24, 2020, and for all such related cases till March 24, 2022.