Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package: Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19

What was the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package insurance scheme for health workers?

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP): Insurance Scheme for Health Workers Fighting COVID-19 was a special, time-bound insurance cover announced by the Government of India at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Press Information Bureau release of 30 March 2020, the scheme provided a comprehensive personal accident cover of Rs 50 lakh to health care providers who were in direct contact with and caring for COVID-19 patients and who could be at risk of losing their lives.

The scheme was part of the wider Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, the relief package announced by the Ministry of Finance in March 2020. The health workers' insurance component was administered by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and, in its first phase, underwritten through New India Assurance Company.

Key facts

• Launched on 30 March 2020 with an initial policy period of 90 days.
• Covered approximately 22.12 lakh health care providers across the country.
• Cover value: Rs 50 lakh for loss of life, paid to the nominee or legal heir.
• No individual enrolment, no premium payable by the worker, and no age limit.

The scheme is now closed. It was extended several times in blocks of 90 and 180 days as the pandemic continued, with the last extension of 180 days running from 19 April 2022. After that period the cover lapsed. This guide explains what the scheme covered and how a legacy claim is handled, so families of eligible workers know the correct route.

Who was eligible for the PMGKP health workers scheme?

The scheme deliberately used a wide definition of "health worker" so that no front-line category was left out.

Covered categories included:

• Public health care providers, doctors, nurses, paramedics and ward staff in central, state and municipal hospitals.
• Community health workers, including ASHA workers.
• Safai karamcharis, technicians, drivers and other support staff engaged in COVID-19 duty.
• Retired, volunteer, contract, daily-wage, ad-hoc and outsourced staff drafted in by central or state governments, and by autonomous or private hospitals requisitioned by the government, to fight COVID-19.

There was no age limit and no requirement to register in advance. The cover applied by virtue of the person being engaged in COVID-19 related care during the policy period.

Who cannot claim now: Because the scheme has lapsed, no new cover is available and individuals cannot apply for a personal policy under this name. A claim can only be made in respect of a health worker who died during a period when the cover was in force. Deaths outside the covered period, or of persons not engaged in the notified COVID-19 duties, are not eligible.

How much did the scheme pay?

The scheme paid a single, comprehensive Rs 50 lakh on loss of life due to COVID-19 while on duty, or accidental death arising from COVID-19 related duty. The amount was paid in full to the nominee or the legal heir of the deceased health worker. There was no graded scale and no separate disability component under this particular cover.

As on 15 July 2021, a total of 921 doctors and health workers had been paid Rs 50 lakh each under the scheme, according to figures placed before Parliament.

How to apply and claim under the PMGKP health workers scheme

Because there is no individual enrolment, there is also no self-application form. A claim is filed by the institution on behalf of the family. The steps that applied during the scheme's operation, and that govern legacy claims, are:

1. Obtain the death certificate of the health worker and a certificate from the treating hospital or district authority linking the death to COVID-19 and to the worker's duty.
2. Approach the employer or institution where the health worker served. The employer prepares the claim with proof of engagement in COVID-19 duty.
3. Route the claim through the District Collector or the designated nodal officer, who verifies and forwards it to the insurer.
4. Submit the nominee's documents — identity and relationship proof, and bank account details, so the Rs 50 lakh can be transferred on approval.

Families finding it hard to trace the correct nodal officer should contact the office of the District Collector or the state health department, or use the national health helpline 1075 for guidance on where to file.

What replaced the scheme?

The PMGKP insurance cover was a specific pandemic-era measure and was not renewed after its final extension. It was not converted into a permanent scheme. Health workers seeking accident or life cover today should look to their regular service benefits, state government insurance for their cadre, or general accident and life insurance products, rather than to this closed COVID-19 scheme.

Help and where to check

• National health helpline: 1075
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare: mohfw.gov.in
• District Collector / district health office for legacy claim routing

Because the scheme is closed, be cautious of any agent claiming to "enrol" you or a family member under this cover for a fee. No enrolment ever existed, and no premium was payable by workers or their families.

How to check your application status

There is no online portal, account login or tracking ID for this scheme, because there was never an individual application in the first place. The claim was always filed institution-to-insurer, so status tracking works the same way, through people, not a web dashboard.

• First point of contact: the employer or institution. The hospital, department or health directorate that originally forwarded the claim on behalf of the deceased worker's family is the correct place to ask for an update. It holds the claim reference used with the insurer.
• Second point of contact: the nodal officer or District Collector's office. Every district had a designated nodal officer for PMGKP claims. If the employer cannot give a clear answer, the District Collector's office or the state health department can confirm whether the claim was forwarded to the insurer and what stage it reached.
• National health helpline 1075 can be used to ask which office in the district is currently handling legacy PMGKP claims, since staff and nodal officer postings have changed since 2020-22.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (mohfw.gov.in) is the ministry of record for the scheme and can be approached in writing (through the employer or district office) if a claim appears to be stuck with no response for an extended period.

Because the scheme has lapsed and new claims are no longer being actively processed in large volumes, follow-up today is mostly a matter of written correspondence and phone follow-up with the district office rather than a digital status check. Families should keep a copy of whatever claim form or forwarding letter the employer used, since that paperwork is the only reference the nodal officer or insurer can trace.

Common reasons for rejection

Claims under this scheme were rejected or stalled for a small number of specific, recurring reasons, most of which trace back to how the scheme was structured rather than to any fault in the underlying entitlement.

• Death occurred outside the covered policy window. The cover ran in defined blocks (the initial 90 days from 30 March 2020, followed by further 90 and 180-day extensions, the last running from 19 April 2022). A death that fell in a gap between two extension periods, or after the final extension lapsed, is not payable under this scheme, however clearly it was COVID-19 related. Fix: there is none for a death outside the window; the family should look to any other central or state ex-gratia scheme that was open for that period, rather than to PMGKP.
• No certificate linking the death to COVID-19 duty. A general death certificate alone is not enough. The claim needs a certificate or report from the treating hospital or district authority that connects the death specifically to COVID-19 infection or duty-related risk. Fix: request this certificate from the treating hospital or the district health office; it can usually be issued retrospectively from hospital records even years later, though it takes longer to trace.
• The deceased cannot be shown to be a "health worker" under the notified categories. The scheme's wide definition still excluded people who were not engaged by a government or government-requisitioned facility in COVID-19 related work, for example general hospital staff with no COVID-19 duty assignment. Fix: the employer must produce a duty roster, deployment order or similar record showing the person was assigned to COVID-19 care or support work; without this the claim cannot be established.
• Claim never routed through the employer or nodal officer. Because individuals could not apply directly, a claim submitted straight to an insurance office by a family member, without going through the employer and District Collector's nodal channel, was not processed. Fix: route (or re-route) the claim through the deceased's employer and the district nodal officer; this is the only channel the insurer recognised.
• Incomplete nominee or legal heir documentation. Missing identity proof, unclear relationship to the deceased, or absent bank account details for the payout delayed or stalled otherwise valid claims. Fix: the nominee or legal heir should submit identity proof, a document establishing relationship to the deceased (such as a legal heir certificate where the nominee was not formally recorded), and bank account details together, rather than piecemeal.

Because the scheme is closed, families revisiting an old, unresolved claim should expect the process to take longer than it would have during the scheme's active period, simply because staff and nodal officer assignments have since changed. Persistence through the District Collector's office and the health helpline is the realistic path, not a portal or a fixed timeline.