Claiming maternity benefits will now become easier for Employees’ State Insurance Corporation of India (ESIC) subscribers, all thanks to the launch of an online portal by the corporation. The Union Minister of Labour & Employment, Bhupender Yadav, has launched the ESIC online maternity benefits claim facility during the commemoration of the 102nd birth anniversary of Dattopant Thengadi at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Yadav lauded the efforts of ESIC to use technology to ease the lives of insured women, and said that the portal will make maternity benefits easily accessible for all beneficiaries. The newly launched facility will ensure that the beneficiaries can claim their maternity benefits from any location. Earlier, the beneficiaries had to visit their respective ESIC branch offices physically.
The ESIC maternity benefits are given to ESIC subscribers in the form of a cash benefit, especially in case of contingencies such as advanced stage of pregnancy, post-delivery care, or in case a woman goes through a miscarriage. The payment is made at the rate of 100 per cent of wages for 26 weeks to compensate for the loss of income during pregnancy, as long as you meet the eligibility criteria. The ESIC has provided maternity benefits of ₹37.37 crore to 18.69 lakh women beneficiaries during 2021-2022.
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