Government issues guidelines for PM Cares for Children scheme
1 min read . Updated: 07 Oct 2021, 03:46 PM IST
Premium- The PM CARES for Children scheme provides a lump sum amount of ₹10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age
The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Thursday issued detailed guidelines for PM CARES for Children, a scheme that lends support to kids who were orphaned during the covid-19 pandemic.
The objective of the scheme, which was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 29 May, is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children who lost their parent(s) to the pandemic, enable their wellbeing through health insurance, empower them through education and equip them for self-sufficient existence with financial support on reaching 23 years of age.
The PM CARES for Children scheme inter alia provides support to these children through convergent approach, gap funding for ensuring education, health, monthly stipend from the age of 18 years, and lump sum amount of ₹10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age.
Eligible children shall be enrolled from 29 May to 31 December. The Scheme is expected to continue till the year an identified beneficiary turns 23 years of age.
The eligibility criterion for the scheme will cover all children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent due to covid 19 pandemic, starting 11 March 2020, the date on which WHO declared and characterized covid-19 as pandemic till 31 December 2021, shall be entitled to benefits under this scheme.
The guidelines state that a child should not have completed 18 years of age on the date of death of parents.
The lump sum amount for financial support will be transferred directly in the post office account of beneficiaries. A pro-rata amount will be credited upfront in the account of each identified beneficiary such that the corpus for each beneficiary becomes ₹10 lakhs at the time of attaining 18 years of age.
