In a compassionate and significant policy change, the Central Government has approved the extension of the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) to officer cadets who have been medically boarded out from service training academies. This measure, announced by the Ministry of Defence, provides a long-awaited relief to hundreds of individuals who were left with lifelong disabilities due to injuries or medical conditions sustained during their military training.
The decision is expected to benefit approximately 500 officer cadets who have been medically invalidated since 1985. These cadets were previously ineligible for ECHS, as the scheme is typically reserved for ex-servicemen, a status they were not granted due to their incomplete training. The issue gained prominence after the Supreme Court took suo moto cognizance of the matter, prompting the government to review its policy.
Under the new directive, the ECHS facility will be available to all such cadets and will also apply to similar future cases. Importantly, the government has announced that the one-time subscription fee of ₹1.20 lakh, normally required for ECHS membership, will be waived for these individuals.
The eligible cadets will now be entitled to a range of healthcare benefits, including free OPD services at ECHS polyclinics and cashless Inpatient/Outpatient Department (IPD/OPD) care at over 3,000 empanelled hospitals across the country. The only condition for availing these facilities is that the cadets must not be members of any other government health scheme. The Ministry of Defence acknowledged that while the number of affected cadets each year is small, the financial and emotional burden on their families is substantial, making this decision a crucial step towards their welfare.