Cost to access: On health check-up for workers
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500+ questions on Economy with explanations
📌 Summary:
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Union Labour Ministry announced free annual health check-ups for workers aged 40+, under provisions of the new Labour Codes
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Implementing agency: Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC); financed through ESI fund
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For workers in hazardous conditions (toxic chemicals, heavy machinery) — check-ups will be mandatory; treatment in ESIC hospitals/dispensaries if illness detected
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Pre-existing legal framework: Factories Act 1948 (only within factories), ESI Act 1948, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code 2020
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Core argument: Programme is welcome but limited — only insured workers (ESIC-covered) will be the main beneficiaries; vast informal workforce remains uncovered
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Causal chain of exclusion: Most workers are informal (90%+); ESI covers only formal sector → free check-ups concentrate on already-insured workers → vulnerable construction, agriculture and waste-pickers remain underserved
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Specific occupational disease gaps: Asbestosis and silicosis are ESI-recognised but construction and agriculture workers (highest risk) are excluded; waste-pickers, sanitation workers face hepatitis, leptospirosis risks
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Programme offers screening but doesn't mandate proactive vaccination — a missed opportunity for infectious-disease prevention
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Solutions proposed: (a) Mobile occupational health units at workplaces (as OSH Code 2020 stipulates for organised workers); (b) Token compensation for workers' time spent on check-ups; (c) Active outreach to informal workers; (d) Mandatory vaccination component
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Without "meeting workers where they are," the scheme will not improve upon an already deficient system
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS Paper 2 — Health, Education and Social Justice; Labour reforms; Worker welfare; ESIC and PMJAY architecture
📝 Prelims Facts:
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Implementing body: Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), under Labour Ministry
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Labour Codes (4): Wages, Industrial Relations, Social Security, OSH Code 2020
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ESI Act 1948; Factories Act 1948
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Eligibility: workers aged 40+; mandatory for hazardous occupations
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ESIC recognises asbestosis, silicosis as occupational diseases
🔑 Key Term: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020 — one of four Labour Codes consolidating 13 existing labour laws on workplace safety, health and conditions
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