Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana: Over 22% of ABVKY claims rejected; here’s why

Since the inception of Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) in 2018, a total of 91,892 people have submitted a claim, out of which 20,833 (22.6%) have been rejected due to non-fulfilment of the eligibility criteria, the government informed Parliament on August 7, 2025.

The Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) is a welfare scheme introduced by the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to provide financial assistance to unemployed insured persons (IPs) covered under the ESI Act, 1948.

The scheme offers compensation in cash to eligible individuals who have become unemployed for a period of up to 90 days. Employees can access the compensation benefits under the scheme only once in their lifetime.

The scheme is assessed and the extension is provided from time to time, nearly every two years, to accommodate evolving employment patterns, Minister of State (Labour and Employment) Shobha Karandlaje said in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.

“Review, assessment and extension of the scheme are done from time to time, approximately in a cycle of every two years, to accommodate evolving employment patterns,” Karandlaje said.

Eligibility criteria for ABVKY

As per the reply in Rajya Sabha, the eligibility criteria under the Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY) are:

• The employee must be covered under Section 2(9) of the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948.
• The employee must have been employed with insurance for at least a year immediately before unemployment, and must have contributed for at least 78 days in the one completed contribution period within those 12 months.
• The unemployment must not be because of misconduct, during a lockout, superannuation or conviction for false statement under the provisions of the ESI Act, 1948.

The rate of relief under the welfare scheme was 25% of the average earning of a beneficiary per day, which was enhanced to 50% starting from March 24, 2020.

“Initially, the rate of relief under ABVKY had been 25% average earnings per day, which was subsequently enhanced to 50% wage, w.e.f. 24.03.2020. Since the inception of the ABVKY in 2018, a total 91,892 number of claims were received, out of which 20,833 claims were rejected due to nonfulfilment of eligibility criteria,” Karandlaje stated in the reply.