April 19, 2021

Government withdraws insurance for healthcare workers who die on COVID-19 duty

Health: The central government has decided not to extend the insurance scheme of INR 50 lakh for healthcare workers who succumb in the line of COVID-19 duty after March 24th, 2021.

The Health Ministry released a circular in March 2021 which stated that the scheme, announced by the Finance Minister as part of the COVID-19 relief package, concluded on March 24th, 2021. As on that day, only 287 claims had been processed.

According to the government, the scheme was supposed to provide insurance coverage to approximately 22 lakh health workers. This included safai karamcharis (sanitation workers), ward boys, nurses, ASHA workers, paramedics, technicians, doctors, and specialists. The scheme also covered workers in the private sector.

The health secretary Rajesh Bhushan, in a letter to the states on March 24th, 2021, wrote that while “the scheme has acted as a very effective safety net and has been able to provide relief to the healthcare workers who have lost their lives due to COVID-19,” it had to be closed going forward.

The letter clarified that all claims submitted as of midnight on March 24th, 2021 would be eligible for coverage under the scheme. Furthermore, an additional one-month window would be provided for the submission of all documents to the insurance company, in the case of eligible claims.

On April 18th, the Health Ministry issued a tweet saying they are considering a new scheme and are in talks with New India Assurance, but there has been no official government circular issued as yet confirming this.

This withdrawal of the scheme comes at a time when the country is fighting the deadliest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is no official data on the number of frontline healthcare workers who have died in the line of duty, the Indian Medical Association claims that at least 739 MBBS doctors have died.

Read this article to know more about a day in the life of a health worker caring for COVID patients.


May 20, 2021

Home Ministry extends validity period of FCRA registration certificates

Fundraising & Communications: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued a circular extending the validity of FCRA registration certificates to September 30th, 2021. This applies to all FCRA licences that have expired or will expire between September 29th, 2020 and May 31st, 2021. The decision to extend the deadline has been driven by the exigencies arising from the COVID-19 situation.

FCRA refers to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2010, which permits charitable organisations based in India to raise funds from foreign sources.

The order also clarified that nonprofits that have already opened an account and have the requisite permission to receive foreign aid, can henceforth receive it only in these newly-opened accounts.

The FCRA law was amended in September 2020 to include a clause that mandated that all nonprofits receiving foreign aid must necessarily open an account in State Bank of India’s New Delhi Main Branch. The government had initially set the deadline for this account opening as March 31st, 2021; it later extended it to June 30th, 2021 after several nonprofits argued in court that there had been delays because necessary approvals from MHA had not been received.

Several organisations have not been able to receive foreign funds during the crisis caused by the second wave, and this has impacted their COVID-19 relief efforts. Relaxing the foreign funding rules could significantly help organisations ramp up their operations to help individuals, supply critical healthcare equipment, and respond to communities in rural areas.

Read this article to know how amending the FCRA can have unforeseen implications.


May 20, 2021

Corporate spending on oxygen support and medical equipment now counts as CSR

Philanthropy & CSR: The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has issued a circular that allows corporate spending on health infrastructure for COVID-19 care to qualify as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure.

This includes setting up medical oxygen generation and storage plants, manufacturing and supply of oxygen concentrators, ventilators, cylinders, and other medical equipment to counter COVID-19.  

The announcement comes at a time when all efforts are being directed towards expediting efforts to support the country’s healthcare infrastructure.

According to the circular, companies can now undertake projects and activities in collaboration with other companies using CSR funds. Additionally, they can contribute to specified research and development projects, as well as publicly funded universities and certain organisations that conduct research in science, technology, engineering, and medicine.

The government had earlier clarified that setting up makeshift hospitals and temporary COVID-19 care facilities would also be considered a CSR activity. Rajesh Verma, the Corporate Affairs Secretary, has requested businesses to consider converting vacant office buildings into COVID-19 facilities to cater to the rapidly increasing caseload.

Read this article to understand why media attention on COVID-19 deaths due to lack of oxygen in big cities has skewed donor priorities.