Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), a federation representing over one lakh flats and three lakh apartment residents across Bengaluru, will launch MADHURA – ‘Medical Aid for Domestic Help Under Residential Apartments’. As part of MADHURA, BAF will launch a group insurance scheme for all domestic workers. The scheme will cover maids, cooks, drivers, plumbers, electricians etc who work in apartment complexes but are not formally employed.
Underscoring the importance of MADHURA, H A Nagaraja Rao, President of BAF, said, “Most domestic workers do not get coverage under government schemes like Ayushman Bharat or Arogya Karnataka as they may be above the poverty line or do not fall under the ‘eligible households’ category as defined under National Food Security Act. Hence their health insurance needs to be covered through alternative mechanisms.”
Explaining the rationale for MADHURA, K Arun Kumar, Vice President of BAF, said, “Domestic workers are employed informally and hence do not get benefits like ESI or group insurance which are available in formal employment. This typically leaves them exposed when a disease hits a family member and they cannot afford the cost of hospitalisation.”
Talking about the modalities of MADHURA, BAF Joint Secretary Vidya Goggi said, “BAF has over 500 apartment complexes as members; a few tens of thousands of domestic workers are employed in these apartments. This gives us the ability to create a group insurance scheme. The premium becomes affordable, can be shared by the employer and employee, and also covers the entire family of the domestic worker.”
MADHURA, a first-of-its-kind scheme, will be launched during the event BAMBOOS (Bengaluru Apartments Making Bengaluru Operationally Outstanding and Sustainable), to be organised by BAF, on 24th November at Freedom Park.
BAF Treasurer Vikram Rai concluded, “Apartment complexes across Bengaluru have been working on issues relating to inclusivity, education of the underprivileged, and community welfare. All these will be showcased during BAMBOOS. MADHURA is yet another initiative of BAF, which will go a long way towards bringing underprivileged sections of society into the mainstream.”
[This article is based on a press release from BAF (Bangalore Apartments’ Federation), and has been published with minimal edits]