Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana

What is Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana?

Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana is a welfare and social-security scheme of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), a statutory body under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. The scheme extends group insurance cover to khadi artisans. The spinners, weavers and other workers who form the backbone of the khadi sector: against the risks of death and disability, and adds an educational scholarship for their children.

Khadi work is largely home-based and informal, and most artisans have no employer pension or workplace insurance. This scheme plugs that gap by enrolling artisans as a group under the Life Insurance Corporation's social-security insurance framework (the Janashree Bima Yojana, later consolidated into the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana), with KVIC acting as the nodal agency and the artisan's khadi institution as the enrolling body.

Key points

• Runs through KVIC, under the Ministry of MSME.
• Covers khadi artisans aged 18 to 59.
• Provides death and disability cover plus a children's scholarship.
• Enrolment is collective, through the khadi institution, not by an individual walking into an insurance branch.

What benefits does the scheme provide?

Under the LIC social-security framework the scheme is built on, cover typically includes:

• A lump sum on natural death of the member.
• A higher lump sum on accidental death or total permanent disability.
• A partial amount on partial permanent disability (such as loss of one eye or one limb).
• A scholarship for the member's children studying in higher secondary classes.

The precise rupee amounts and premium are governed by the LIC social-security policy in force and have changed as the underlying scheme evolved from Janashree Bima Yojana into Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana. Confirm the current benefit and premium figures with KVIC or your khadi institution before relying on any specific number, rather than assuming an older published amount.

Who is eligible for Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana?

You can join if:

• You are a khadi artisan — a working spinner, weaver or allied worker in the khadi sector.
• You are between 18 and 59 years of age.
• You are enrolled through a recognised khadi institution registered with KVIC.

You cannot join if:

• You are not a khadi-sector artisan.
• You are below 18 or above 59 years of age.
• You are not attached to a khadi institution that enrols members under the scheme.

Because cover is offered as a group policy, individual artisans cannot buy it directly from LIC; the institution enrols its eligible artisans together.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Khadi Karigar Janashree Bima Yojana

1. Confirm you are enrolled with a khadi institution registered with KVIC; if not, register as an artisan with the institution you work for.
2. Ask the institution to include you in the group insurance scheme. The institution maintains the list of covered artisans and coordinates with KVIC and LIC.
3. Submit your age proof, bank details and nominee details to the institution for the group enrolment record.
4. Keep the enrolment acknowledgement, and inform your institution of any change in nominee, bank account or contact details.
5. In the event of a claim, the nominee approaches the khadi institution, which forwards the claim with the required certificates (such as a death or disability certificate) to LIC through KVIC.

Help and where to get support

• KVIC: kvic.gov.in
• Your khadi institution is the first point of contact for enrolment and claims.
• The nearest KVIC state or divisional office can confirm the current benefit amounts, premium share and claim procedure.

Because this scheme rides on an LIC social-security policy whose terms are revised over time, always verify the current cover and premium with KVIC or your institution rather than relying on a previously published figure.

How to check your application status

There is no individual online portal login where a khadi artisan can track enrolment or claim status under this scheme, because cover is issued as a single group policy in the institution's name rather than as separate individual policies. Status has to be checked through the enrolling chain instead.

1. Ask your khadi institution first. The institution holds the master list of artisans it has enrolled under the group policy and is updated by KVIC and LIC whenever a new enrolment cycle is confirmed. It is the fastest way to know whether your name has actually been added to the covered list.
2. Confirm your enrolment acknowledgement. When an institution enrols an artisan, it usually issues (or should issue) some form of written acknowledgement or entry in its records. If you never received one, that is itself a sign your enrolment may not have gone through and needs to be followed up.
3. For a pending claim, follow up through the institution, not LIC directly. Since the institution forwards claims to LIC through KVIC, an individual nominee generally cannot check claim status by approaching an LIC branch directly with no reference from the institution. Ask the institution what reference number or date the claim was forwarded on.
4. Escalate to the KVIC state or divisional office if the institution is slow to respond or unable to confirm status. KVIC's state/divisional offices oversee the institutions in their area and can check whether the institution has actually reported your enrolment or claim upward.
5. Keep a paper trail. Because there is no online tracking ID, keeping copies of whatever enrolment form, acknowledgement, or claim submission papers you handed to the institution is the only practical way to prove a submission was made if there is a dispute later.

Common reasons for rejection

• Age outside the 18-59 band at the time of enrolment. Since the age limit is strictly enforced, an artisan enrolled while below 18 or after turning 60 will not be validly covered, and any later claim can be rejected on this ground. Fix: confirm and record accurate age proof before enrolment, and re-check the eligibility window if enrolment was delayed.
• Not genuinely engaged in khadi-sector work. If the person enrolled is not actually a working spinner, weaver, or allied artisan under a recognised khadi institution, a claim can be contested for lack of a valid insurable link to the scheme's covered category. Fix: enrol only through the institution where the artisan's actual khadi work is recorded, not through an institution the artisan is loosely associated with.
• Enrolment never actually completed by the institution. Because individuals cannot enrol directly with LIC, a common failure is that the artisan submitted documents to the institution but the institution never included the name in the group list sent to KVIC/LIC. Fix: obtain and keep a written enrolment acknowledgement, and periodically confirm with the institution that the name appears on the covered list.
• Missing or unclear nominee details. A death claim can be delayed or disputed if no nominee was recorded, or if the nominee details on file are outdated (for example, after a marriage or a nominee's own death). Fix: update nominee details with the institution promptly whenever family circumstances change, rather than waiting until a claim arises.
• Bank account details incorrect or not updated. Claim and scholarship payments are made to the bank account on record; a closed or wrongly noted account number is a frequent, avoidable cause of a payment being held up or bounced. Fix: verify the bank account details submitted at enrolment and inform the institution immediately if the account changes.
• Missing supporting certificates for a death or disability claim. A claim forwarded without the relevant death certificate or disability certificate (as applicable) will not be processed by LIC. Fix: the nominee should gather the correct certificate for the specific event (natural death, accidental death, or the relevant disability certificate) before the institution forwards the claim, and confirm with the institution which certificate is required for that claim type.
• Scholarship claimed for a child not in the eligible class range. Since the children's scholarship applies to children studying in higher secondary classes under the framework in force, a claim for a child outside that range can be turned down. Fix: check the current class-eligibility rule with the institution or KVIC before submitting a scholarship claim.