Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Labour and Employment
| Photo Credit:
ANI
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has decided to open 20 more new medical colleges over the next two years, increasing the reach of affordable government medical care for 3.72 crore Corporation insured workers and their families.
The proposed 10 new medical colleges which are being explored for opening in 2025-26 would be in Pune (Maharashtra, Manesar (Haryana), Kollam (Kerala), Surat (Gujarat), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Bhubaneshwar (Odisha), Asansol (West Bengal), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Margaon (Goa), said Minister of Labour and Employment Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday.
With this initiative, which comes at a time when private health care is becoming unaffordable even for the middle class, the number of ESIC medical colleges will go up to 31, including 28 directly run by the Corporation and 3 with the states, said Ministry sources.
The ten proposed ESIC medical colleges are expected to start from next academic session in 2026 as the Corporation is still to get land in some locations and regulatory approvals for all, and raising infrastructure for each of them would take time, Ministry sources explained.
Each of the ten medical colleges would have 200 beds and offer 50 MBBS seats. The bed allocation and corresponding intake of MBBS students may increase depending on ESIC requirements in the identified districts.
40% MBBS seats reserved employees covered under ESI Act
The Union Minister said 40 per cent of the MBBS seats in each medical college would be reserved for the children of employees covered under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Act. Only workers employed in factories, road transport, hotels, and restaurants who draw a salary of ₹21,000 per month or below are entitled to benefit from the scheme.
For 2026-27, we are planning to have another ten more medical colleges, Mandaviya also told reporters.
Meanwhile, from August this year, the 10 ESIC medical colleges will start functioning at Andheri (Maharashtra), Basaidarapur (Delhi), Guwahati-Beltola (Assam), Indore (Madhya Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Ludhiana (Punjab), Naroda – Bapunagar (Gujarat), Noida & Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand).
The Minister said that as of April 21, 2025, 691 districts had been notified for the implementation of the ESI social security scheme, compared to 393 districts in the country in 2014.
Of the 691 notified districts, 592 are “fully notified,” 99 are partially notified, and 87 are non-notified. Overall, there are 778 districts.
The ESIC is formulating a policy to extend medical care through Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and Community Health Centres (CHCs) in non-implemented and partially implemented districts, ensuring access to ESIC benefits for deemed beneficiaries in these regions, as per the Ministry.
The Ministry stated that the ESIC is collaborating with Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) to offer comprehensive, cashless medical care to over 14.4 crore beneficiaries.
ESIC beneficiaries can get their treatment done at PMJAY empanelled hospitals.
Published on April 22, 2025
