COVID-19 has impacted all of us in several ways. A lot of us are facing the scourge of the financial issues that have come packed with this pandemic. Watch Out! brings to you the various modes of financial assistance the institution provides to help students affected by the pandemic.

Currently, the Institute provides three modes of financial assistance. This includes the medical insurance coverage we pay for every semester, a fund-raiser through IMEFC (Institute Medical Emergency Fund Committee), and lastly the COVID 19 relief fund made possible through donations from our alumni, led by the Encore platform managed by the 1989 batch. Below mentioned are the various eligibility criteria, methods as well as the amounts of claims that can be made by the students.

1. Insurance
   1. Eligibility and Application:
      1. Medical Insurance Charges are included in the Semester Charges for UG, PG as well as PhD courses and amount to ₹750 every semester.
      2. For new students, who may join the Institute from time to time, identical coverage will be made available from day one of joining and the premium shall be paid.
      3. There is no age limit on the insured student covered by this scheme.
      4. The scheme covers all pre-existing illnesses of the insured students. Chronic diseases like Asthma, Alzheimer’s, Respiratory and Pulmonary diseases are covered.
      5. The insurance covers hospital and testing charges for covid-19, subject to the conditions mentioned on the website of the TPA.
   2. Claim Amount:
      1. 5000+ Hospitals and 1800 labs are covered under this Health Insurance, insuring a sum of ₹1,00,000/-
      2. No claim for less than ₹ 250/- may be filed
   3. Claim Method:
      1. Submit the Claim Intimation to TPA by calling them at Toll-free no. - 18001801444.
      2. To submit the claim online, use the link here
      3. The member ID of the student is to be entered in the format as follows -
         1. UIC545”EnrollmentNumber”IITR for a student of First Year UG
         2. UIC545”EnrollmentNumber”IITR2 for all other students.
      4. The OTP can be received on both the registered mobile number as well as Email-id
   4. Claim Process
      1. Submit the Claim Intimation to TPA by call or by registering at the website on the intimation link.
      2. Intimation should be given within seven days of admission or before discharge. In case of plan treatment, you can give the intimation before seven days of hospitalization.
      Fill the claim form from the website. Collect complete original claim papers (Hospital bill, receipt against payment of hospital bill, investigation reports, in case of fracture pre & post-procedure x-ray film, itemized break up of hospital bill) from the hospital.
      4. Submit all original claim papers along with duly filled & signed claim form within 15 days from the Date of Discharge (kindly keep a photocopy of all submitted papers with you for further reply or treatment).
      5. If a patient is taking treatment at the Network/Panel hospitals, they should opt for cashless transactions.
   5. Source and Co-ordination of the funds:
      1. All IITs use a common TPA (Third Party Administrator) for their insurance, named Raksha Health Insurance TPA Pvt. Ltd.
   6. Additional information:
      1. Pre & post hospitalization reimbursement is covered for 30 and 60 days respectively.
      2. Standard Room charges shall be 2% of the sum insured, and in the case of ICU, it would be 4% of the sum insured.
      3. The spouse of the insured member is not covered.
2. IMEFC (Institute Medical Emergency Funds Committee)
   1. Eligibility and Application:
      1. Any student from IITR can avail this facility for themselves or their immediate family.
      2. Donations can be received only through the IMEF account.
   2. Claim Amount:
      1. No prior limit is set for the fundraiser.
   3. Claim Method:
      1. Students can write a mail to IMEF at imef@iitr.ac.in submitting their application.
      2. Patient’s details have to be provided along with the details of the student
   4. Claim Process:
      1. Once the application is approved, the undertaking has to be signed ensuring any unutilized funds will be returned.
      2. A final report of expenditure with supporting documents has to be submitted.
      3. Documents to be submitted also include: -
         1. Medical report with a financial estimate
         2. Income tax return or Bank statement of last 6 months
         3. Insurance policy details and BPL card (if applicable)
         4. Medical bills (Once the application has been verified
   5. Source and Co-ordination of the funds:
      1. Team Wellness co-ordinates with voluntary groups to streamline the fundraiser process and accumulate necessary funds.
   6. Additional information:
      1. Not a fund but fundraiser streamlined by Team Wellness
      2. Can be availed for any emergency

NOTE: It is important that if any individual has to raise funds they must do it through the IMEFC only. The Institute does not allow any individually organised fundraisers in the name of IITR. The Institute advises you to check the legitimacy of the fundraiser otherwise your funds may be misused.

3. StAC
   1. Eligibility and Application:
      1. This fund is available exclusively for COVID-positive students or their immediate family members (e.g., parents or siblings), with an annual family income of up to 5 lakh rupees.
      2. The selection of eligible recipients of assistance from the Covid Relief Fund will utilize the existing modus operandi followed by the IITR Student Aid Committee.
      3. Students will apply for grants using current mechanisms of StAC, which is mentioned further down below.
      4. StAC will decide the student beneficiaries and other needs for student COVID relief.
   2. Claim Amount:
      1. If the aid amount is less than INR 10K, it will be directly transferred to the entitled account once the StAC deems it fit for the particular student.
      2. If the aid amount is greater than INR 10K and the situation is dire then they may request StAC to look into their case.
   3. Claim Method:
      1. StAC application process: Each submitted application should be emailed to stac-applications@iitr.ac.in with supporting documents and information like:
         1. Phone and bank account information.
         2. An RT-PCR report of the patient.
         3. Receipts of bills/expenses incurred during the treatment.
         4. A copy of the Income Tax Return file to determine annual income.
   4. Claim Process:
      1. StAC will decide who the student beneficiaries will be and other needs for student COVID relief.
      2. The StAC will also determine other needs the student may have and provide help accordingly.
      3. Mr. Amit K, Wellness Office staff, will contact the students in case additional documents are required to process the request.
   5. Source and Co-ordination of the funds:
      1. Alumni of IITR from all over the world will donate to the cause through the Encore Platform led by the Batch of 1989.
      2. The target amount to be collected is $ 15000/-.
      3. The final amount collected will be known after the donation process is over and only then will the allotment of funds to the students begin.
      4. The funds will be allocated to the IITR Student Aid Committee (StAC) for its utilization for the welfare of students adversely affected due to COVID 19.
   6. Additional information:
      1. Areas in which help will be provided by the fund:
         1. Grants to students facing financial and health hardships due to COVID.
         2. COVID treatment, prevention tests, transport etc. for students.
         3. Post-COVID rehabilitation of students
         4. Any medical infrastructure to be improved at IITR for the benefit of students.
         5. Help with continuing remote education of students.
         6. Any other COVID related relief/rehabilitation for students.
      2. DORA will share with the alumni representatives, who are, Sunil Goyal and Kiran Panesar, and the IITR Foundation, Inc. the names of beneficiaries along with the amount received by each one of them.

If you have any queries regarding these, please feel free to contact:
Shivam Chopra: +91 80060 25581
Abhishek Kumar: +91 94682 04324

Image Credits: Vidhi Khosla