To help citizens grappling with the pandemic-induced strain on personal finances and health, the central government has increased benefits under the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI) payable to the family of deceased employees, EDLI 1976 provides security to the families of employees engaged in the private sector. The benefit is calculated on monthly wages that cover basic + dearness allowance or/and an employee’s PF balance.
Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme membership is default extended to members of EPF. The process of claiming the benefit is fairly simple since the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme scheme is applicable to all the employees thereby reducing the hassle of adding separately the applicants. Issued via a gazette notification on April 28, 2021, the maximum assurance benefit amount payable under the EDLI Scheme has increased to Rs. 7 lakh from the earlier Rs 6 lakh.
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation's (EPFO) Central Board of Trustees (CBT) is presided over by Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar. To avail of the benefit, the deceased employee should retain membership of the fund outside the ambit of Section 17 of the EPF & MP Act aid and should have been employed for at least 12 months. The mandate will extend financial support to the grieving families whose earning members have lost their lives while in service.
The government’s decision comes as a whiff of fresh air as India witnesses an unprecedented spike in infection cases with a failing healthcare unit. However scant the amount may be to cover expenses of the family, it is a promising start to aid a pandemic battered nation scurrying for the job, healthcare, and basic amenities for livelihood.
The regulation will aid the bereaved families in the country where COVID-19, poor medical infrastructure, and lack of oxygen cylinders have claimed lakhs of lives—more than revealed in official, government data. The loss of life is further accentuated by the job loss of around 4.1 million youth since the onset of the pandemic last year. About 71.31% of businesses bear the brunt of cashflow shortage and operational challenges subsequently affecting the employees.
Assessing the downward sloping economy, analysts have advocated for COVID19 bonds for Indian taxpayers, NRIs, and corporates to help India come out of the economic rut and generating supply and demand. Additionally, the present stimulus package of ₹1.7 lakh crore is also anticipated to double once the bonds are introduced. As the GDP growth slopes downward four years in a row, the common mass will tremendously benefit from a multi-functional network of primary healthcare and revamped digital space for a business transaction.
With the hike in the Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme, employees are also looking forward to favourable labour reforms to vouchsafe for financial security and especially in the unorganized sector. The reforms should also be aimed at ease of doing business to uproot the evils of unemployment, job loss, and low social benefits from their geneses. Presently, both the employees and employers of private sectors are finding it difficult to navigate through new pathways to shake off the financial crisis spiralled into motion by COVID19.
