New Delhi, 8 October 2021: On June 29 this year, the central government announced the PM CARES Initiative for children who have lost both of their parents due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the government has issued comprehensive guidelines for the same. The scheme will provide beneficiaries a monthly stipend from 18 to 23 years of age. Once the child turns 23, he/she can draw from the entire corpus of INR 10 lakh.
PM CARES for Children – Benefits in Brief
- Free school education and assistance in getting loans for higher studies.
- Health coverage of INR 5 lakh under the Ayushman Bharat scheme.
- A monthly stipend after attaining the age of 18.
PM CARES for Children – Details
1. Provision of support for boarding and lodging of the child within her/his extended family, relatives, kith, or kin.
2. Assistance for Preschool and School Education will be available to:
- Children below 6 years of age.
- Children below 10 years of age.
- Children between 11-18 years of age.
- Assistance for Higher Education to the candidate for obtaining education loan for Professional courses /Higher Education in India.
3. Health Insurance – All children will be enrolled as beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs.
4. Financial Support – The candidates will receive a monthly stipend once they attain 18 years of age, by investing the corpus of Rs 10 lakhs. The beneficiary will receive stipend till they attain 23 years of age.
Who is eligible for the PM CARES for Children Scheme?
1. All children who have lost:
- Both parents, or
- Surviving parent, or
- Legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent due to COVID 19 pandemic* [Starting from March 11, 2020 (the date on which WHO has declared and characterized COVID-19 as pandemic) till December 31, 2021, shall be eligible to claim the benefits under this scheme.]
2. Child should not have completed 18 years of age on the date of demise of parents.
Also Read : SBI General Suraksha Support Scholarship Program 2021 – A Breakthrough for Covid Affected Students
What are the Objectives of the PM CARES for Children Scheme?
- To ensure convergence with Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE).
- To ensure that children identified for support under PM CARES for Children Initiative receive educational assistance.
- To facilitate loans and scholarships under its scheme and programmes.
- To ensure data synchronization with the Ayushman Bharat system.
- To ensure insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh to children under PM-Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) for children identified for support under PM CARES for Children.
- To accommodate children identified for support under PM CARES for Children scholarship programme.
- To facilitate the investment of fixed deposit to ensure stipend after 18 years of age and lump-sum payment of Rs. 10 lakh at 23 years of age.
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