A Press Meet to create awareness on Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees (SPREE) was held on 18.7.2025 at ESIC, Regional Office, Bengaluru. The Press meet was held under the chairmanship of Shri Manoj Kumar, Regional Director, ESI, Corporation, Bengaluru along with Sh. Asarda Kishore, Joint Director I/c , ESIC, Sub Regional Office, Peenya and Smt. Kanithaselvi A. S., Joint Director, I/c, ESIC, Sub Regional Office, Bommasandra.

Shri Manoj Kumar, Regional Director, ESIC said, “With an aim to expand the social security coverage to maximum of industrial workers, Employee State Insurance Corporation in its 196^th meeting held on dated 27.6.2025  at Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Dr. Mansukh Mandavia, Hon’ble Minister of Labor & Employment and Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt. of India, approved a Scheme called SPREE (Scheme for Promotion of Registration of Employers and Employees) as a special initiative offering one-time opportunity for unregistered employers and employees, including contractual and temporary workers to enroll in the ESI Scheme without facing inspections or demands for past dues. The scheme is active from 1^st July, 2025 to 31^st December, 2025.”

Shri Manoj Kumar further said that ESI Scheme has already been implemented in whole Karnataka and providing social security cover to 35 Lakhs Insured persons and their family members totaling 140.00 Lakhs beneficiaries registered through 1.87 Lakhs employers. Shri Asarda Kishore, Joint Director, ESIC, Sub Regional Office, Peenya, stated that the scheme has been administered in entire state through One Regional Office, Bengaluru and six Sub Regional Offices i.e Peenya, Bommasandra, Hubli, Mysuru, Mangalore and Kalaburagi.

The key Features of Spree 2025 are:

• Employers can digitally register their units and employees via ESIC, Shram Suvidha and MCA Portal.
• Registration will be considered valid from the date declared by the employer.
• No contribution or benefit will apply for the any period prior to registration.
• No inspection or demand will be made for the pre registration period.

The scheme will eliminate the fear of retrospective penalties, legal action due to non registration and backdated dues and simplifies the registration process to promote voluntary compliance. SPREE,2025 will remove these hurdles aiming to bring more employers and workers into the ESI fold registered during the said period and enhance access to health and social benefits being a progressive step towards a more inclusive and accessible social security system. Smt. Kanithaselvi A. S. stated that ESIC has always remain committed to strengthening its outreach and fulfilling its mandate of universal social protection, aligning with the vision of a welfare-centric labor ecosystem in India.

During the interaction with the print media, Shri Manoj Kumar informed the media that the ESI Corporation has also launched/approved a one time “AMNESTY SCHEME, 2025” to resolve disputes and encourage compliance with the ESI Act during its 196^th meeting offering a window for dispute resolution from 1^st Oct, 2025 to 30^th Sept, 2026 with an aim to reduce litigation by providing a mechanism for mutual settlements, promoting ease of doing business and fostering goodwill among the employers.

He also informed regarding Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) Scheme recently approved by the Govt of India to support employment generation, enhance employability and social security across all sectors, with special focus on the manufacturing sectors. 

 

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(Release ID: 2145763)