NEW DELHI, May 29: All children who have lost both their parents in Covid-19 will be supported under the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on Saturday. Such children will get a monthly stipend once they turn 18 and a fund of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 23 from PM CARES fund.
These children will also get assistance to procure higher education loan, with the interest being paid from the PM CARES fund.
The PMO has further stated that children having lost parents to Covid-19 will get free health insurance of Rs 5 lakh till 18 years, with the premium being paid from the PM CARES fund.
Adding to this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said children represent the future of India and the government “will do everything to support, protect them”. “It’s our duty as society to care for our children and instill hope for a bright future,” the prime minister said.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development said 577 children across the country have been orphaned in the past 55 days during the second wave of the pandemic.
Taking to Twitter, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani had earlier said the government was “committed to support and protect every vulnerable child due to loss of both parents to Covid-19”.
“From 1st April 2021 till 2:00 PM today, the State Governments & UTs across the country have reported 577 children whose parents succumbed to Covid-19,” Irani posted.
On Friday, the Supreme Court had asked the district authorities to “immediately take charge of such children (the ones left orphaned by pandemic) and attend to their basic needs without waiting for any further orders” from the court.
It pointed out that the pandemic has created an unprecedented situation, which has a cascading effect on vulnerable children.
The bench also asked the Centre and state governments to furnish the latest information about the identification of children who have become orphans after March 2020, “whether due to the pandemic or otherwise, and steps taken for attending to their basic needs.”
(Manas Dasgupta)