To strengthen coordinated healthcare delivery and expand access to quality services, an MoU was signed on Tuesday between the National Health Authority (NHA) and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation for convergence of the ESI scheme with the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
The MoU was signed by Sanjay Mehrishi, Joint Secretary, NHA, and Ashok Kumar, Director General, ESIC.
Another MoU was inked between ESIC and the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) to promote quality assurance and accreditation across ESIC healthcare facilities. The agreement was signed by Dr. Ramanand N Shukla, CEO, NABL, and Dr. R Srinivasan, Medical Commissioner (MS), ESIC, with the objective of strengthening laboratory services and ensuring adherence to national quality standards, the Ministry of Labour and Employment said after the ESIC’s 75th Foundation Year Celebrations.
Addressing a gathering, Labour and Employment Minister Mansukh Mandaviya described the institution’s journey as a remarkable example of growth, reform and service to the nation.
Mandaviya emphasised that ESIC must continue to adopt a reform-and-perform approach and take collective “sankalps” in its 75th year to further improve service delivery. Stressing the need to ensure availability of medicines, equipment and doctors across all hospitals, he called for minimising referrals by strengthening in-house facilities and ensuring that staff members are delivering their duties with due diligence.
He underlined that in India, “Swasthya hi seva hai, aur seva hi hamara sanskar hai” (“Health is our mission, and service is our tradition”) and urged all medical professionals and officers to uphold discipline and honour the trust of the people of our country. He also stated that ESIC’s standards should aspire to match premier institutions like All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
The Union Minister also stated that the provision in the Labour Codes provides for mandatory health check-ups for all workers above 40 years of age, which would contribute to strengthening worker welfare and creating a protected workforce.
ESIC began its journey in 1952 with around 1.2 lakh beneficiaries and a single dispensary. It has today expanded to serve more than 15 crore beneficiaries through a vast network of 166 hospitals, 17 medical colleges and nearly 1,600 dispensaries, he stated.
Published on February 24, 2026
