Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar
Further, on account of the unprecedented situation, private hospital staff and retired or volunteer/local urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by states/central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of central/states/UTs, AIIMS and Institutes of National Importance/hospitals of central ministries specifically drafted for the care of COVID-19 patients are also covered under the scheme subject to fulfilment of certain conditions,Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said.
New Delhi:
As on November 29, families of 1,509 health workers who died due to COVID-19-related duties have been paid insurance claims of Rs 50 lakh each by state owned New India Assurance(NIA) under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package scheme for coronavirus warriors, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP): Insurance Scheme for Health Care Workers Fighting COVID-19’ was launched on March 30, 2020 to provide comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to 22.12 lakh health care providers, including community health workers and private health workers, who may have been in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients and may be at risk of being impacted by this, Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar said in a written reply.
Further, on account of the unprecedented situation, private hospital staff and retired or volunteer/local urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by states/central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of central/states/UTs, AIIMS and Institutes of National Importance/hospitals of central ministries specifically drafted for the care of COVID-19 patients are also covered under the scheme subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, Pawar said.
Processing of claims has been streamlined and simplified with effect from May 28, 2021 by circulating a proforma certificate in which the district collectors concerned are to certify the eligibility of the claims, the minister said.
Claims are now being verified and certified by the district collectors and forwarded to the insurance company for release of payments to the claimants so as to expedite claim settlement, Pawar said.
”As on November 29, 2021, the families of 1,509 health workers, who died due to COVID-19 related duties and found eligible in terms of the aforesaid criteria, have been paid insurance claims @ Rs 50 lakh per claim,” she said.
The government is keeping a close watch on the COVID-19 situation in the country by strictly observing the strategy of ‘test-track-treat’, Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination to mitigate the impact of resurgence in the disease’s trajectory, she said in Rajya Sabha..
The Centre has also established the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Surveillance Consortium for genomic sequencing and tracking the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variant strains, Pawar said in a written reply.
She was responding to a question on whether health infrastructure has been strengthened and expanded, including oxygen cylinders and medicines, to meet the COVID-19 challenge and if the government has undertaken any detailed study with experts on how to minimise the threat and likelihood of a third wave of the pandemic.
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Pawar said, is supporting the implementation of two key programmes, the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) and the Ind-CEPI Mission, which have enabled strengthening of the national vaccine development ecosystem to effectively respond to pandemics.
Moreover, ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’,the Indian COVID-19 vaccine development mission, was launched as part of the third stimulus package — Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0 — for promoting research and development, she said.
The mission is led by the DBT and is implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), she said.