Indian Bank to offer Rs 20 lakh to heirs of employees succumbing to COVID-19

Public sector Indian Bank will provide Rs 20 lakh as financial relief to legal heirs of employees if they succumb to COVID-19 while in service. The bank board, on June 22, decided that the scheme will be applicable to all serving employees including whole time directors. It is valid from June 1 till March 31, 2021.

A circular issued by the bank said that the employees who are on sabbatical leave or on suspension or on loss of pay will be excluded from the coverage of the scheme.

To receive the financial relief under the scheme, the cause of death should be certified by a government hospital or a hospital approved by the government as COVID-19. The bank already covers its employees against COVID-19 treatment through its medical insurance policy.

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After its recent amalgamation with public sector bank Allahabad Bank, Indian Bank's staff increased to 20,000 employees across over 6,000 branches.

The central government had declared banking as an essential service because of which banks, though on a limited scale, remained functional throughout the lockdown period. It had announced a Rs 50 lakh insurance cover for frontline health workers involved in managing COVID-19 pandemic, though there was no mention about providing financial security to people undertaking other essential services.

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