Glossary
Employees' State Insurance (ESI)
A mandatory health and cash-benefit insurance scheme for lower-wage employees, still running on its own ₹21,000/month coverage ceiling under the pre-existing ESI Act, pending Code-based notification.
ESI provides medical care and cash benefits (sickness, maternity, disability) to employees earning below its coverage ceiling. Like EPF, it continues to operate on legacy 1948 Act machinery even though the Social Security Code has commenced.
The ₹21,000/month ceiling is unchanged by the Codes coming into force — this is another instance of the Codes being notified without the underlying scheme being re-issued.
Why it matters now: HR teams auditing statutory coverage should keep checking the ₹21,000 ceiling directly, not assume the Codes changed it — they haven’t yet.