RBI directs banks to provide health insurance for construction workers

Delhi's cabinet approved the Delhi Building and Construction Workers Health Scheme, mandating health insurance coverage for construction sector workers—one of India's largest informal workforce segments. The scheme provides: (1) Cashless medical facilities, (2) Free annual health checkups, (3) Coverage up to ₹2 lakh per individual worker, (4) Family coverage up to ₹10 lakh, (5) Access to empaneled hospitals across Delhi.

Background: Construction workers (estimated 50+ million nationally) remain largely excluded from formal social security despite hazardous working conditions. Delhi's scheme builds on the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, which mandates welfare boards for construction workers.

Policy Framework: (1) Funded through construction cess and government contributions, (2) Administered by Delhi Building and Construction Workers' Welfare Board, (3) Integrates with existing RSBY and Ayushman Bharat frameworks, (4) Includes occupational health coverage (accidents, injuries).

Significance: (1) Extends Universal Health Coverage (UHC) mandate to informal sector, (2) Addresses critical gap in construction worker welfare, (3) Implements ILO conventions on worker protection, (4) Model for other states' social security expansion, (5) Supports sustainable development goals (SDG-3: Good Health).

Challenges: Implementation, awareness, integration with existing schemes, funding sustainability.

Exam Angle: Tests understanding of (1) Social security schemes for informal workers, (2) Health policy and UHC expansion, (3) Constitutional obligations toward worker welfare (Articles 39, 41, 43), (4) Building and construction sector regulation, (5) Federal-state coordination on welfare schemes. Relevant for UPSC GS-II social policy, labor law, and state-level governance exams.