In India, there are 60 million families across the country who are below the poverty line, as prescribed by the Government. One of the insecurities for these families is the frequent incidences of illness and the need for medical care and hospitalisation. Illness remains one of the most prevalent causes of human deprivation in India, as majority of the workers are still without any social security coverage and insurance. To address the basic necessities of this part of the society and after a critical review of the existing and previous health insurance schemes, in 2007 the Ministry of Labour and Employment of India launched a new smart card based cashless health insurance scheme called Rashtriya Swasthaya Bima Yojna (RSBY), which aimed to cover the entire country’s population in 5 years.
Biometric-enabled smart cards
