W Bengal to roll out phase-2 of health insurance scheme

The West Bengal government is all set to float tenders  for selecting an insurance company for  implementing the second phase of   the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) in the state by  April.

The RSBY was rolled out in four districts including Burdwan, Malda, North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore last year, but the process of distributing cards has started only in the districts of Malda and Burdwan as of now.

"Nearly 4000 smart cards are being distributed by National Insurance Company(NIC) everyday.", informed Trilochan Singh, principal secretary, labour & employment, government of West Bengal.

NIC has been selected as the implementing agency for the RSBY in these four districts.

The company will recieve a premium of Rs 500 for medical insurance from the state and central government of which the Centre's share is around 75 per cent.

"Funds will be disbursed to the company as and when it submits data on distribution of smart cards. Cards in East Midnapore and North 24 Parganas would be distributed within the next two months.", Singh said. Nearly 12 lakh BPL families would be benefited in these districts.