Vedanta Lanjigarh signs MOU with ESIC
Under this, the Vedanta Hospital in Lanjigarh joins the network of ESIC-recognised medical centres
By Swagatika Bhutia
Lanjigarh (Odisha), Oct. 28: Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh, India’s premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina, has partnered with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to make available more employee welfare benefits to its shopfloor-level employees and business partners. As part of this partnership, the Vedanta Hospital at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi, Odisha) is now recognized as an Employer’s Utilization Dispensary. This recognition allows ESI beneficiaries (belonging to certain wage brackets) to henceforth avail of cashless comprehensive primary healthcare services at the Vedanta Hospital, for themselves and their immediate family members.
ESIC has categorised several common forms of health risks into three levels of assistance, i.e., primary, secondary, and tertiary, within which any person enrolled under the ESI Act can avail of treatment. In this respect, Vedanta Hospital can now provide primary-level medical assistance free-of-charge to ESI-enrolled people who need medical support. The Vedanta Hospital is a 20-bed state-of-the-art medical facility at Lanjigarh, well equipped with doctors, physiotherapists and visiting specialists, and 24X7 ambulance service for referrals. The hospital gets a daily footfall of more than 200 patients. In addition, ESIC will also provide complete financial assistance for secondary and tertiary level assistance through their network of partner hospitals. Further, the employees and business partners will get access to several additional schemes related to disablement, maternity, dependants, and unemployment.
Speaking about the MoU with ESIC, Mr GG Pal, Dy. CEO – Alumina Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “The wellbeing of our employees and business partners is of paramount importance for us. Our partnership with the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation is a significant step towards providing additional welfare schemes to our workforce and their family members, each of whom has been instrumental in our journey of growth. Our Vedanta Hospital at Lanjigarh has served our employees and the local community for over 15 years, providing high-quality medical assistance at very affordable rates. Through ESIC, we are pleased to now extend additional medical benefits through this hospital to our shopfloor-level employees and business partners.”
Mr. Partha Sarathi Panda, Regional Director of ESIC at Bhubaneswar, Odisha, said, “Working professionals are the strength of any nation, for they give shape to the economy, and ESIC therefore undertakes measures to safeguard this population. We are glad that Vedanta has given ESIC the opportunity to tie up with their hospital facility, which will greatly benefit local communities. Through this initiative Vedanta’s workforce and partners can derive maximum benefits out of these schemes, and with this safety net, continue their contribution to accelerating our economy.”
Vedanta Lanjigarh has implemented several initiatives to ensure the wellbeing of its workforce and local communities. Besides a state-of-the-art hospital near the plant, these include regular health check-ups, health & hygiene awareness-building sessions, mega health camps in remote locations, campaigns on eradication of malnutrition and malaria, mobile health units for providing doorstep healthcare services, and so on.
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.26 million tonnes in FY22. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 4th in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2021 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. The company operates a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 75 MW captive power plant. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
