On Saturday, Sumita Dawra, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, chaired a review meeting on the Labour Welfare Scheme (LWS) for Beedi/Cine/Non-Coal Mine Worker. The LWS is an initiative of the central government to provide social security and well-being support to the mining industry, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a statement.
It added that the scheme has been implemented through 18 Labour Welfare Organisation (LWO) regions across the country, covering 1,802,000 Beedi/Cine/Non-Coal mine workers and their dependents.
Through the efforts of the LWO, 10 hospitals and 279 dispensaries have been set up across the country to provide critical diseases treatment services to the workers, it said. Total expenditure on health care for the beneficiaries in the current fiscal year (FY) 2023-24 is estimated to be Rs 8.50 crore.
The scheme, said PIB, has also enabled 96,051 wards of Beedi/Cine/Non-Coal mine workers to acquire education loans through an online portal. The total expenditure on education assistance for the beneficiaries in the current fiscal year is estimated to be Rs 30.68 crore.