Under the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948, businesses employing 10 or more persons, with employees earning wages up to ₹15,000 per month, are mandatorily required to register for ESIC (Employees’ State Insurance Corporation) coverage. As of today, the ESI Act is applicable in all States and Union Territories of India, except: Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. This extensive coverage reflects the government's commitment to providing comprehensive social security to the organized workforce. As of March 31, 2013 Over 6.66 lakh employers were registered under ESIC, More than 1.65 crore employees were covered under various ESIC benefits, including medical, sickness, maternity, and disability benefits.

The Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Scheme is a self-financing social security and health insurance scheme, where the benefits are funded through contributions made jointly by employees and their employers. These contributions are calculated as a fixed percentage of the employee’s wages. As of now, covered employees contribute 0.75% of the wages to the ESIC, and covered employers contribute 3.25% of the wages. Employees earning up to ₹100 per day are exempt from contributing their share. However, employers must still contribute their full share for such employees. Employers are responsible for deducting the employee’s share from the monthly wages and adding their own share. The total contribution (6.5%) must be remitted to ESIC within 21 days from the end of the calendar month in which the wages were paid. Failure to deposit within the prescribed timeline may attract penalties and interest. Contributions are deposited through designated branches of the State Bank of India (SBI) and other authorized banks, as notified by ESIC.