Railway staff with SBI salary accounts to get ₹1 cr accidental death cover

The Indian Railways on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with State Bank of India to provide significant insurance cover for its employees and their families, an official statement said.

Under the MoU, signed in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, employees who maintain salary accounts with SBI will get accidental death insurance of Rs 1 crore, a press noted issued by the Railways Ministry said.

This is a significant increase from the current coverage of Rs 1.20 lakh, Rs 60,000 and Rs 30,000 for Group A, B, and C employees, respectively, under the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS).

"Additionally, all railway employees holding only a salary account with SBI will now be eligible for natural death insurance coverage of Rs 10 lakh without the need for paying any premium or undergoing any medical examination," the press note said.

"With nearly 7 lakh railway employees maintaining salary accounts with SBI, this agreement marks a major step towards employee welfare, reflecting a caring and constructive partnership between Indian Railways and SBI," it said.

According to the ministry, some of the key complementary insurance covers under this MoU include air accident insurance (death) cover of Rs 1.60 crore plus an additional up to Rs 1 crore on RuPay debit card; personal accident (permanent total disablement) cover of Rs 1 crore; and personal accident (permanent partial disability) cover of up to Rs 80 lakh.

The ministry said this MoU is employee-centric, compassionate and designed to bring exclusive benefits to the workforce -- especially frontline railway personnel in Group C and others.