NEW DELHI– On a visit to India, from 12- 15 February 2013, Mr Yoshiteru Uramoto, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific spent Friday morning in Faridabad, Haryana observing the operations of India’s National Health Insurance Scheme, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY). The RSBY scheme, anchored by Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, provides cashless treatment to below poverty line (BPL) families, MNREGA Workers, Domestic Workers, Building and Other Construction Workers, Postmen, Street Vendors and other informal sector workers in the RSBY empanelled hospitals. The insured family of upto 5 members can get in-patient services for Rs. 30,000/- in a year. The scheme jointly funded by the Central Government (75%) and State Governments (25%) is functional in 25 states of India. In year 2009-2010, in Haryana 547,265 such families have been enrolled in RSBY and 46,945 patients received treatment.

Mr. Uramoto, accompanied by Ms Panudda Boonpala, Deputy Director, ILO DWT and CO for India, and ILO team, took keen interest in understanding the RSBY scheme. He interacted with nodal officers of the MoLE and Haryana Government, visited a RSBY empanelled hospital and discussed with doctors and beneficiaries how RSBY scheme is being used by the end user. Mr. Uramoto visited the RSBY enrolment station in office of the CDPO at Faridabad, where he met the potential beneficiaries. He complemented the MoLE for their flagship health insurance plan. Later, Mr Uramoto he visited rehabilitation centre for destitute and migrant child labour under the National Child Labour Project in Faridabad.