ESIC to provide Pehchan cards to insured

Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) will be providing two magnetic striped ‘Pehchan cards’ to insured persons and their family members from August 2010. This is part of its Rs 1,200-crore information technology enablement project called ‘Project Panchdeep’, being executed by Wipro Limited.

With the help of ‘Pehchan card’ the insured person and his or her family can avail of cash and medical benefits from any institution of ESIC throughout India anytime. The card has a life long validity. Change of place or change in employment does not require fresh registration, UH Rao, ESIC Andhra Pradesh regional director and additional commissioner, told mediapersons here on Wednesday.

He said the 126-bed ESIC Super Speciality Hospital at Sanathnagar here, being built at a cost of about Rs 132 crore, was in final stages of construction. A postgraduate institute of medical sciences and research and an ESIC medical college were also being constructed at Sanathnagar at a cost of about Rs 430 crore. Besides, a dental college was being set up at ESIC Model Hospital at Nacharam complex involving an investment of Rs 130 crore.