Multi-purpose smart cards for migrant workers in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government is planning to issue multi-purpose smart cards to migrant workers who enrol in the health insurance scheme  to be launched  soon. Chief Minister  Pinarayi Vijayan had recently announced the government decision to launch a health insurance scheme for migrants.   Its  main objective is to persuade  them to enrol for the scheme so that the state government will have a fool-proof data about them.

The plan is to launch the scheme through the Comprehensive Health Insurance Agency of Kerala (CHIAK), which is now implementing schemes like the ‘Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana’ and the Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. Smart cards containing personal and health details will  be supplied to the migrant workers enrolling in the  health scheme. A team led by labour principal secretary Tom Jose is finalising the details of the project.

The labour, health, home, local self-governance, revenue and IT department officials are involved in it. “The proposed smart card would serve as an identity card as well as a health card. We are also looking into the scope of seeking the services of local bodies  and village officers to reach out to the migrant labour pockets and enrol them,” said Mr. Jose.

Though the labour department and the police had earlier  initiated a migrant labourer enrolment drive, only around 55,000 had enrolled, while the total number of migrants in the state is estimated to be over 25 lakh. Mr. Jose also said that as part of the scheme, steps to improve the living conditions of migrants would  also be initiated. At present many migrants are staying in unhygienic conditions and there were even reports that many contagious diseases were being spread through migrants.