Introduction

Rural Poor Women, particularly young women, face enormous problems if they lose their husbands due to untimely death. The family comes under severe stress and shock, both psychological and economic. They are thrown into irrecoverable and abject poverty. The severity of the problem can be gauged from the fact in Andhra Pradesh alone almost 250 persons face untimely death every day. These are men and women in the age group of 18 to 59 years, who are the bread winners for the families.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has successfully implemented the “Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana” for rural land less agricultural labourers. The coverage in Andhra Pradesh is the largest in the country. Spurred by the tremendous response to Aam Admi Bima Yojana, the State Government decided to enlarge the Social Security Scheme to cover all SHG members and their spouses. The Indira Jeevitha Bima Pathakam is a result of the determination of the Government of A.P. to cover all rural poor households, numbering 90.00 lakhs.

The response to Indira Jeevitha Bima Yojana has been overwhelming and 80 lakhs men and women have been provided insurance cover - 38.00 lakhs under Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana, 18.79 lakhs under Janasree Bima Yojana, 23.42 lakhs under Other Group Insurance.