To
Date: 4-6-13.
Shri Sachin Pilot, Hon. Minister of State for
Corporate Affairs,
Room No. 437, C wing, 4th Floor, Shastri
Bhawan, Rajendra Prasad Road, New
Delhi-110001.
Respected Young Minister,
Sub: Regulating the functioning of Corporate Sector
for Welfare of your large number of Elders.
Ref; Our earlier Representation dt 28-7-11 to your
predecessor Dr. M. Veerappa Moily sent by Speed Post & E/Mail received in your office but no action taken on plea of
non-receipt even after sending copy with RTI Application.
We welcome our Young Minister as full-fledged in
charge of an important Ministry of Corporate Affairs, whose one of the main
functions is regulating the functioning of Corporate Sector.
It has been reported on 2-6-13 in The Times of India
(Mumbai) that Companies are
withdrawing health insurance cover facility for employees' parents under group
mediclaim policies, citing rising costs. Parental cover, routinely provided by
companies around five to six years ago, is now sponsored by employers in just
36% of group covers. According to an employee health and benefits study by
insurance broker Marsh, only 36% organizations now sponsor cover for dependent
parents under employee group mediclaim policies. "On an average, every
year around 10% corporates with mediclaim stop sponsoring parental cover. This
number which was 70% at the time of detariffing has come down over the years to
36%" said Sanjay Kedia, MD, Marsh India. He added that there is a need to
have an environment where companies can cover pre-existing ailments so that
there can be a policy which will provide benefits through collective bargaining
and health management. ``This is going to be a big social issue as there will
be no cover for parents with ailments," said Segar Sampathkumar, general
manager and head of health insurance at New India Assurance. Instead of withdrawing the group mediclaim cover for
parents, the right way to tackle costs would be through wellness programmes and
encouraging 'responsible consumption' of insurance benefits, said Kedia, another
problem hurts parents whose health cover has been withdrawn by their children's
employer. In theory, a senior citizen covered under his/her children's group
mediclaim policy should be able to use the portability route to buy a cover if
the employer discontinues the policy. But in reality, no insurer has an
individual policy which allows a senior citizen with pre-existing ailments to
port into.
As you
are aware, Maintenance & Welfare of Parents & Senior Citizens Act, 2007
forces the children to provide monthly Maintenance Allowance to all
parents. Maintenance includes food, clothing, residence and medical attendance & treatment. The right of parents without any means to be
supported by their children having sufficient means is provided in Section 125
of the Criminal Procedure Code and the Hindu Adoptions & Maintenance Act,
1956 also. In view of this statutory provision for children to provide
maintenance to parents for health care
also, action of Corporates to stop this facility by depriving their employees
of this facility is required to be stopped immediately and facility must be
restored immediately. As Corporate Sector is stake holder of this Act and
National Policy of Older Persons 1999 approved by Cabinet on 13-2-99, all
relevant provisions should be brought to their notice.
National Policy of Older Persons,
1999 was announced on 13-2-99 with the approval of Cabinet. Para
93 of the Policy directs each Ministry to implement the aspects concerning them
by preparing Five Year and Annual Action Plan with targets. Main provisions of NPOP, 99 for
your Ministry, on which no action is
taken for 14 years, are:-
i)
The Goal of the
Policy is the wellbeing of Elders and aims to strengthen their legitimate place
in Society and help them to live their last phase of their life with purpose, dignity
& peace (Para 15).
ii)
The development of
health care insurance is to be given priority to cater to the needs of Elders (Para
36).
iii)
All endowments will
be encouraged to extend their areas of concern to provide services to the
elderly (Para 74).
You are
requested to get Five Year and Annual Action Plan prepared for your Ministry
and get these provisions implemented early.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs had notified more comprehensive
revised Guide Lines for Corporate Social
Responsibility in July, 2011, in which it is already laid down that ``Depending upon their core competency and
business interest, companies should undertake activities for economic and
social development of communities and geographical areas, particularly in the
vicinity of their operations. These could include: education, skill building
for livelihood of people, health,
cultural and social welfare etc., particularly
targeting at disadvantaged sections of society.``
Senior Citizens are a
disadvantaged section of Society due to ageing and form almost 10% of the total
population of the Country- 37% is Below Poverty Line and more than 33% belong
to Lower Income Group and the financial position of these 70% is very fragile
and needs help of Corporate World.
CSR is coming out of the purview of
‘doing social good’
and is fast becoming a ‘business necessity’. The ‘business case’ for CSR is
gaining ground and corporate houses
are realizing that ‘what is good for workers - their community, health, and environment is also good
for the businesses.
A Note on Advocacy on Corporate Front from Smt
Shielu Sreenivasan, President, Dignity Foundation, Mumbai appeared in Dignity
Dialogue for May,12,(Copy enclosed) was sent by me on which also no action is
taken by your officers with negative attitude.
We, 12 crore of Country`s Elders have high hopes from our Young Dynamic
Minister and we are hopeful that you will take immediate & sympathetic
action on our both representations at an early date.
Thanking
You,
Yours
Sincerely,
(M.V.Ruparelia)
Copy forwarded to Shri T.R.Meena, Joint Secretary, Ministry of
Social Justice & Empowerment, A Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi-101001 for pursuing
the matter further.
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