An additional incentive of Rs. 1000/- per month is being paid to ASHAs in view of their significant contribution towards COVID-19 pandemic related work. Besides this, States/UTs have been asked to ensure provision of safety measures like masks and sanitizers for ASHAs.
Further, the State/UT Governments have also been given flexibility to provide incentive to health workers and staff engaged in COVID duties as per their context and policies, from the resources made available under the India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.
Moreover, under life insurance benefits have been extended to all healthcare workers, under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19’ announced on 30 March 2020. Ministry of Health and Family welfare has collaborated with the New India Assurance (NIA) Company Limited for providing the insurance amount based on the guidelines prepared for the scheme.
This insurance scheme provides a life insurance cover of Rs. 50 lakh to healthcare providers, including community health workers, who may have to be in direct contact and care of COVID-19 patients and therefore are at risk of being infected. It also includes accidental loss of life on account of COVID-19 related duty.
The scheme also covers private hospital staff/ retired/volunteer/ local urban bodies/contract/daily wage/ ad-hoc/outsourced staff requisitioned by States/ Central hospitals/autonomous hospitals of Central/States/UTs, AIIMS & INIs/ hospitals of Central Ministries drafted for COVID-19 related responsibilities.
The details of beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health workers fighting COVID-19, State/UT-wise as on 20.09.2020 is given:
| Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme | ||
| States/UTs: Summary of the claims Paid (as on 20/09/2020) | ||
| S. No. | State/UT | Claims processed |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar | 0 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 4 |
| 3 | Arunachal Pradesh | 1 |
| 4 | Assam | 2 |
| 5 | Bihar | 2 |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 0 |
| 7 | Chhattisgarh | 1 |
| 8 | Delhi | 1 |
| 9 | Gujarat | 10 |
| 10 | Haryana | 0 |
| 11 | Himachal Pradesh | 0 |
| 12 | Jammu & Kashmir | 0 |
| 13 | Jharkhand | 0 |
| 14 | Karnataka | 3 |
| 15 | Kerala | 3 |
| 16 | Madhya Pradesh | 2 |
| 17 | Maharashtra | 13 |
| 18 | Mizoram | 0 |
| 19 | Odisha | 0 |
| 20 | Puducherry | 0 |
| 21 | Punjab | 1 |
| 22 | Rajasthan | 4 |
| 23 | Tamil Nadu | 6 |
| 24 | Telangana | 2 |
| 25 | Uttar Pradesh | 5 |
| 26 | West Bengal | 3 |
| Total | 63 | |
The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Sh Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.