BackLabour panel to assess impact of govt schemes
Monday’s meet will scrutinize effectiveness of Ayushman Bharat and the Aarogya Setu app during the pandemic
PremiumNEW DELHI : The parliamentary standing committee on labour is set to scrutinize the effectiveness of social welfare schemes, including the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led Union government’s ambitious health programme, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, and the Aarogya Setu app, in containing the covid-19 pandemic, especially among migrant workers.
The panel, which will meet on 31 August, has summoned officials of central ministries to assess the impact of the schemes before submitting its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament, which is set to begin in the second week of September.
“We plan to understand how the Ayushman Bharat programme helped people during this health crisis. We also want to understand the insurance scheme of the Union government and how people have benefitted from it in the last few months, especially during the nationwide lockdown," said a person who is part of the parliamentary committee, seeking anonymity.
This is not the first time that members of the standing committee on labour have invited ministries to scrutinize the impact of government programmes after the covid-19 outbreak. Earlier, officials of the ministries of consumer affairs, food and public distribution (MCAFPD), and labour, had appeared before the panel.
“This will be the final meeting with the officials of the Union government before the final report is submitted. The report will focus completely on migrant and unorganized sector labourers during covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown," he said.
MCAFPD officials will also brief the panel on the impact of the free foodgrain distribution scheme on migrant workers and poor households. Monday will be the fourth meeting of the labour panel related to issues of fallout of the pandemic.
gyan.v@livemint.com
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