Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY)

What is Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana?

Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) is a welfare scheme run by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. The scheme provides cash relief to insured workers who lose their jobs, cushioning the period of unemployment while they look for new work.

According to ESIC, Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana was introduced on 1 July 2018, initially on a pilot basis, as a relief payment for employees covered under Section 2(9) of the ESI Act, 1948. The relief is payable for a maximum of 90 days, once in a lifetime, and the rate has been enhanced to 50% of the average daily earnings from the earlier 25%.

The relief amount is not tied to your last drawn salary alone. ABVKY calculates it as 50% of the average daily earnings recorded over your previous four contribution periods, so a worker with a longer, more stable contribution history generally receives a steadier daily rate. Because the ESI contribution year runs in two half-yearly contribution periods (April to September and October to March), those four periods together cover roughly the two years of insurable employment the scheme requires.

Key objectives

• Provide temporary cash relief to insured workers during involuntary unemployment.
• Support workers covered under the ESI Act while they search for re-employment.
• Deliver the relief directly to the beneficiary's bank account.

Main features

• Administered by ESIC under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Relief of 50% of average daily earnings for up to 90 days, once in a lifetime.
• Payable after a 30-day waiting period, and claimable within one year of unemployment.
• Extended by ESIC up to 30 June 2027.

Who is eligible for Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are an Insured Person (IP) covered under Section 2(9) of the ESI Act, 1948.
• You have become unemployed and the unemployment is involuntary.
• You were in insurable employment for a minimum of two years immediately before unemployment.
• You contributed for not less than 78 days in each of the four consecutive contribution periods immediately preceding unemployment, and your employer had paid or was liable to pay those contributions.
• You hold an Aadhaar-linked, active bank account, since the relief is credited electronically.

You cannot apply if:

• Your unemployment is due to misconduct or punishment, dismissal or termination on disciplinary grounds.
• You became unemployed due to superannuation (retirement) or voluntary retirement.
• You left work because of a lockout, an illegal strike, or voluntary abandonment of the job.
• You have been convicted of a criminal offence under the provisions of the ESI Act.
• You are re-employed during the period for which relief is being claimed.
• You do not meet the contribution and insurable-employment conditions above.
• You have already availed the maximum 90 days of ABVKY relief once in your lifetime.

The relief is not automatic on job loss. The insured person must satisfy the two-year insurable-employment and 78-day contribution history, wait out the 30-day period, and file the prescribed claim. According to ESIC, the claim must be filed within one year from the date of unemployment; a claim submitted after that window lapses.

What documents are required for ABVKY?

How to apply for Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana

1. Confirm that you meet the eligibility conditions; two years of insurable employment and at least 78 days of contribution in each of the four consecutive contribution periods before unemployment.
2. Wait until the 30-day waiting period from the date of unemployment has elapsed, after which the relief becomes due.
3. Log in to the ESIC employee portal at esic.gov.in using your Insured Person (IP) number, and open the ABVKY claim creation tab on the home page.
4. Let the system run its eligibility check on your contribution and employment history, then select the unemployment period, the "From" date is the first of the month and the "To" date the last day of the month.
5. Generate the pre-filled AB-1 claim form produced by the portal, which also carries the forwarding details for your branch.
6. Print the AB-1 form as an affidavit on non-judicial stamp paper, get it notarised and signed, and attach a self-attested Aadhaar copy and a bank passbook or cancelled cheque.
7. Submit the signed claim and documents to your designated ESIC Branch Office. If documents were not uploaded during online filing, the printout with attachments must be handed in at the branch.
8. The Branch Office verifies your contribution history and cessation of employment, and on approval the relief is credited electronically to your bank account only.

How to claim ABVKY offline

1. Visit your designated ESIC Branch Office with your ESIC/IP number, Aadhaar, bank passbook and proof of unemployment.
2. Collect and fill the ABVKY claim form and the affidavit of unemployment.
3. Submit the completed claim to the Branch Office after the 30-day waiting period.
4. The Branch Office verifies your contribution history and cessation of employment before sanctioning relief.

How much benefit does ABVKY provide?

Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana pays unemployment relief equal to 50% of the average daily wages of the insured person, for a maximum of 90 days. According to ESIC, the rate of relief was enhanced to 50% of wages from the earlier 25%. The relief is a once-in-a-lifetime benefit; once 90 days of relief have been claimed, the insured person cannot claim ABVKY again.

The relief becomes payable only after a waiting period of 30 days from the date of unemployment, and it is paid directly into the insured person's bank account.

Important dates and validity

Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana was introduced on 1 July 2018 on a pilot basis. ESIC has since extended the scheme, and according to ESIC it is available up to 30 June 2027. Eligible insured persons who become unemployed within this period can file their claim after the 30-day waiting period.

Common reasons ABVKY claims are rejected

• Unemployment on excluded grounds; misconduct, disciplinary termination, retirement, voluntary retirement, lockout, illegal strike or a criminal conviction under the ESI Act.
• Insufficient contribution history: fewer than 78 days of contribution in any of the four consecutive contribution periods, or less than two years of insurable employment.
• Relief already availed — the 90-day, once-in-a-lifetime limit has been reached.
• Claim before the waiting period, or too late, relief becomes due only after 30 days of unemployment, and the claim must reach ESIC within one year of the date of unemployment.
• Bank or Aadhaar mismatch. The relief is paid electronically, so an inactive account or an Aadhaar not seeded to the IP record stalls the payment.
• Affidavit defects, an AB-1 form that is not notarised, not on the required stamp paper, or unsupported by self-attested Aadhaar and bank proof is returned by the Branch Office.

How ABVKY compares with other ESI benefits

Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana is distinct from the ESI Act's older unemployment cover, the Rajiv Gandhi Shramik Kalyan Yojana (RGSKY), which pays unemployment allowance to insured persons who lose work due to factory closure, retrenchment or permanent invalidity. ABVKY is broader in that it responds to ordinary involuntary job loss, but narrower in duration and frequency. It is a single 90-day relief in a lifetime. An insured person should check with the Branch Office which of the two routes fits their situation, since the qualifying conditions and the paperwork differ.

ABVKY relief is a cash payment and does not by itself extend other ESI entitlements. Continuation of medical care after employment ends is governed by the separate ESI rules on medical benefit, and any question on that should be raised with the Branch Office rather than assumed from the ABVKY claim.

Help and grievance redressal

• ESIC helpline: 1800-11-2526 (toll-free) for scheme queries and claim status.
• Approach your designated ESIC Branch Office for claim submission and verification.
• The ESIC portal at esic.gov.in carries the ABVKY claim forms and current scheme details.

ESIC does not charge any fee for filing an ABVKY claim. Insured persons should file claims directly through the ESIC portal or their Branch Office rather than through any middleman.