Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY)

What is Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana?

Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) is an unemployment relief scheme of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC), which functions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. According to the ESIC portal, ABVKY is a welfare measure for employees covered under Section 2(9) of the ESI Act, 1948, in the form of a relief payment of up to 90 days, once in a lifetime.

ESIC decided to introduce ABVKY at its 175th meeting on 18 September 2018, and the scheme took effect from 1 July 2018 on a pilot basis for two years. It has been extended repeatedly since. At its 198th meeting, chaired by Union Minister for Labour and Employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, ESIC approved an extension of the scheme from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.

ABVKY exists because ESI's other cash benefits, sickness, maternity, disablement, dependants' benefit, all assume the worker is still in insurable employment. Losing the job cuts the wage and the safety net at the same moment. ABVKY fills that gap with a cash transfer paid straight into the worker's bank account while he or she looks for the next job.

ESIC runs the scheme under Section 19 of the ESI Act, which allows the Corporation to promote measures for the welfare of Insured Persons in addition to the benefits specified in the Act itself. That legal basis matters in practice: ABVKY relief is a Corporation welfare measure, not a statutory benefit that can be demanded as of right, which is why it is renewed by ESIC resolution and carries an end date.

Who is eligible for ABVKY?

You can claim if:

• You are an Insured Person covered under Section 2(9) of the ESI Act, 1948, that is, an employee of a covered establishment on whose wages ESI contributions are paid.
• You have been rendered unemployed during the period for which relief is claimed.
• You were in insurable employment for a minimum of one year immediately before the unemployment, under the relaxed conditions notified by ESIC. The original 2018 condition was two years.
• You contributed for not less than 78 days in the completed contribution period in the 12 months immediately prior to unemployment. The original 2018 condition required 78 days in each of the four preceding contribution periods.
• Contributions in respect of you were paid or payable by the employer.
• Your Aadhaar and bank account are linked with the insured person database.

You are not eligible, and relief is not admissible, if:

• Your unemployment resulted from voluntary abandonment of employment, voluntary retirement or premature retirement.
• You have attained the age of superannuation.
• You were dismissed or terminated under disciplinary action, or the unemployment was a punishment for misconduct.
• The period falls within a lock-out, or a strike declared illegal by the competent authority.
• You have been convicted for a false statement under Section 84 of the ESI Act read with Rule 62 of the ESI (Central) Rules.
• You have been re-employed elsewhere during the period for which you are drawing relief.
• You do not meet the minimum contributory service.

Two further rules from the ESIC circular decide odd cases. If you worked for more than one employer and are covered under ESI through each, you count as unemployed only when you are unemployed with all of them. And an Insured Person drawing ABVKY relief cannot receive any other similar benefit admissible under any other enactment, nor any other ESI cash compensation for the same period, although periodical payments of permanent disablement benefit continue and medical benefit remains available.

ESIC also closed a gap that used to disqualify genuine cases. Where an employer had actually terminated a worker but kept the person on the rolls for a few months showing "zero" contribution, the worker used to fail the unemployment test. The Ministry of Labour and Employment announced on 3 February 2021 that relief for such a period of "zero" contribution shall also be allowed, provided the person has been exited from the employer's rolls and meets the other conditions.

How much relief does ABVKY pay?

ABVKY pays 50 per cent of the average daily wage for a maximum of 90 days of unemployment, once in a lifetime. The rate was raised from the original 25 per cent to 50 per cent along with the relaxation in eligibility conditions.

The average per day earning is calculated as total wages during the previous four contribution periods divided by 730. Working through the ESIC circular's own illustration at the current 50 per cent rate: a worker with total wages of Rs 2,40,000 over the four preceding contribution periods has an average daily earning of Rs 2,40,000 divided by 730, that is Rs 328.77, and 90 days of relief at 50 per cent works out to about Rs 14,794.

Two rules shape the payout:

• Relief is paid for a clear month of unemployment. No prospective claim, that is, a claim for a future period, is allowed.
• If you take up gainful employment part-way through, relief is payable only for the clear month of unemployment between the date of unemployment and the date of re-employment. The balance out of the 90 days may be claimed later if you are again rendered unemployed from insurable employment within one year of the initial unemployment.

Payment is made electronically to the Insured Person's own bank account by the Branch Office. In the event of the death of the IP, the relief is paid to the nominee or legal heir by account payee cheque.

When can you file, and by when?

Under the relaxed conditions announced by ESIC, relief becomes due for payment after 30 days from the date of unemployment, replacing the original 90-day wait, and the claim can be submitted directly to the designated ESIC Branch Office or DCBO by the worker instead of being routed through the employer.

The outer limit is firm: the claim must be submitted not later than one year from the date of unemployment. A worker who waits longer loses the relief entirely.

How to apply for Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana

1. Wait 30 days from the date of unemployment. Relief becomes due only after that period, and no claim for a future period is entertained.
2. Open the ABVKY claim link on the ESIC portal at esic.gov.in and enter your Insurance Number, Aadhaar number, bank account number with branch and IFSC, the period of claim and your mobile number.
3. Let the system check your eligibility. It will either generate the claim in Form AB-1 together with a forwarding letter to your last employer in Form AB-2, with an auto-generated unique claim ID, or display a message that you are not eligible.
4. Print both documents. Sign or put your left thumb impression on Form AB-1 and prepare it as an affidavit on Rs 20 non-judicial stamp paper, duly notarised, as prescribed by the ESIC circular.
5. Get Form AB-2 signed and stamped by your last employer, who confirms the period you worked and the reason you became unemployed.
6. Submit the papers to your designated ESIC Branch Office or DCBO, in person or by post, along with a photocopy of your Aadhaar card and a cancelled cheque or self-attested copy of your bank passbook.
7. Follow up at the Branch Office. The Branch Office staff verify your details in the system under the Branch Manager's supervision, the system computes the quantum of relief, the claim is processed on Form AB-3, and the Branch Manager passes the payment for credit to your bank account.

Keep a copy of the claim ID. It is the reference you will need for every follow-up.

How to check your ABVKY claim status

1. Note the unique claim ID generated when you submitted the online claim.
2. Contact your designated ESIC Branch Office. The same office where you submitted the affidavit and Form AB-2, with the claim ID and your Insurance Number. The Branch Office maintains a register of ABVKY claims in Form AB-4.
3. Call the ESIC toll-free helpline 1800-11-2526 if the Branch Office does not respond.
4. Check the bank account that you gave in the claim, because relief is credited electronically and no cheque is issued to a living claimant.

Why ABVKY claims get rejected

• Less than one year of insurable employment immediately before unemployment.
• Fewer than 78 days of contribution in the relevant completed contribution period.
• Aadhaar or bank account not linked to the insured person database, which is a pre-condition for the claim to pass the system check.
• Resignation, voluntary retirement or superannuation as the cause of the unemployment, none of which qualifies.
• Dismissal or termination under disciplinary action.
• Employer's Form AB-2 forwarding missing or unsigned.
• Claim filed after one year from the date of unemployment.
• Re-employment during the claim period, which stops the relief.
• Bank details in the ESIC database out of date. Where they are missing or the IP has changed the account, the Branch Manager can authenticate the new account on the basis of a cancelled cheque leaf or the passbook carrying the claimant's name.

The claimant also gives an undertaking in Form AB-1 to repay the whole amount on demand by ESIC if it is later found that he or she was not lawfully entitled to it. False statements attract Section 84 of the ESI Act.

Key dates to remember

• 1 July 2018; ABVKY became effective, on a two-year pilot basis.
• 6 December 2018 — Gazette notification published, followed by the ESIC procedure circular dated 14 December 2018.
• 3 February 2021: Claim process liberalised for periods of "zero" contribution before exit.
• 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027: Current extension approved at the 198th ESIC meeting.

One caveat worth noting: the ESIC ABVKY web page, last reviewed on 4 April 2025, still records the enhanced 50 per cent rate and relaxed eligibility as applicable "upto 30th June, 2024" even though the scheme itself has since been extended. Confirm the rate and conditions applying to your date of unemployment with your ESIC Branch Office before you notarise the affidavit.

Help and grievance redressal

• ESIC toll-free helpline: 1800-11-2526
• ESIC medical helpline: 1800-11-3839
• Designated ESIC Branch Office or DCBO for claim status and payment queries
• CPGRAMS for written grievances, log in, choose "Others/Not Listed/Not Known" under Grievance Detail, select ESIC in the Ministry/Department dropdown and your Regional Office under Subordinate Department, then give the details

Filing an ABVKY claim costs nothing beyond the stamp paper and notarisation of the affidavit. No agent or middleman can get a claim sanctioned, and ESIC never asks for a fee to release the relief.