Union Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday chaired the 198th meeting of the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), during which a series of major decisions were approved to strengthen healthcare infrastructure, expand medical education, improve organisational efficiency and enhance services for insured workers.
Among the key decisions, the Corporation approved direct management of all upcoming and newly commissioned ESI hospitals by ESIC to ensure standardised, efficient and high-quality healthcare. Existing hospitals under state governments that are undergoing reconstruction or upgradation will continue under state management unless the respective state opts to hand them over to ESIC.
The Corporation also approved a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Ayush and ESIC to integrate, promote and strengthen Ayush services within ESIC’s healthcare system, with a focus on addressing occupational and lifestyle-related health issues through holistic care.
To support the expansion of medical, dental, nursing and allied health science institutions, ESIC gave in-principle approval for restructuring its Medical Education Division. The proposal includes the creation of functional verticals, additional posts and an ESIC Medical Education Advisory Board.
In another key decision, the Corporation approved a new consolidated Memorandum of Understanding for State ESI Societies in line with the Code on Social Security, 2020, replacing the earlier 2017 framework.
The meeting also cleared several healthcare infrastructure projects, including the establishment of Occupational Disease Centres at Sanathnagar, Faridabad, Ludhiana, Beltola and Bhubaneswar, along with in-principle approval for Zonal Rehabilitation Centres.
ESIC approved the phased expansion of its Model Hospital at Bari Brahmana in Jammu from 50 to 100 beds, the upgradation of ESIC Hospital in Tirunelveli from 100 to 150 beds, and the establishment of a Radiation Oncology Block at ESIC Medical College and Hospital in Joka, Kolkata. The facility will include a high-energy linear accelerator, CT simulator, brachytherapy unit and PET-CT scan services to strengthen cancer care across eastern and northeastern India.
The Corporation also granted in-principle approval for a new dental college with undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, a super-specialty-cum-OPD block, hostels and staff quarters at ESIC Medical College and Hospital, Basaidarapur, New Delhi. It also approved setting up a new ESIC Medical College at Haridwar, Uttarakhand, with an annual intake of 50 MBBS students from the 2027-28 academic session.
The meeting approved the Employees’ State Insurance (General) Regulations, 2026, under the Code on Social Security, 2020, replacing the existing 1950 regulations.
To improve administrative efficiency and service delivery, ESIC also approved the establishment of five new Sub-Regional Offices in Meghalaya, Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Rajkot (Gujarat), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh).
Additionally, the Corporation approved the extension of the Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana, the unemployment allowance scheme for insured persons, for another year from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027.
The meeting was attended by senior officials of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Director General of ESIC, principal secretaries and secretaries of state governments, along with representatives of employers and employees.
