New Delhi, Sep 1: In a big relief for lakhs of Railway employees, the Indian Railways and the State Bank of India (SBI) on Monday signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will provide enhanced insurance benefits to staff.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Railway Board Chairman Satish Kumar and SBI Chairman C.S. Setty. The new insurance scheme is a major step towards employee welfare. Under the MoU, Railway employees who have their salary accounts with SBI will now enjoy much higher insurance coverage than before.
One of the key benefits is an air accident insurance (death) cover of Rs 1.6 crore. On top of this, employees will also get an additional cover of up to Rs 1 crore through their RuPay Debit Card.
Apart from this, in case of accidental death, employees will get insurance benefits up to Rs 1 crore, a big jump from the existing coverage of Rs 1.20 lakh for Group A, Rs 60,000 for Group B and Rs 30,000 for Group C employees under the Central Government Employees Group Insurance Scheme (CGEGIS).
The MoU also brings in natural death insurance coverage of Rs 10 lakh for all employees having a salary account with SBI. Importantly, this benefit will be provided without any premium payment or medical test.
Nearly 7 lakh Railway employees currently maintain their salary accounts with SBI, which means a large section of the workforce will benefit from this deal. The agreement also includes complimentary covers such as Rs 1 crore for permanent total disability and up to Rs 80 lakh for permanent partial disability in case of an accident.
Officials said this step reflects a compassionate and employee-centric approach by Indian Railways in partnership with SBI. It will especially benefit frontline railway personnel in Group C, who play a crucial role in keeping India’s vast rail network running.
IANS