PM CARES for Children scheme

Why in news?

• Prime Minister recently released benefits like scholarships and health insurance under the PM CARES for Children scheme to support children who lost their parents due to coronavirus during the pandemic.

More about the news:

• In February this year, a study in The Lancet had estimated the number of such children in India to be around 19 lakh. This was termed as “sophisticated trickery” by the Ministry for Women and Child Development (MoWCD), which said the number was close to 1.53 lakh.

About PM CARES for Children scheme:

• PM CARES for Children was launched in May 2021 to ensure rehabilitation and education of children who lost caregivers to Covid between March 2020, when Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic by the WHO, and February 2022.
• The scheme applies to children who have lost both parents or a surviving parent or legal guardians/adoptive parents, to ensure their rehabilitation and education.

Features:

• It will be funded by PM Cares.
• Ministry for Women and Child Development will act as its nodal agency in the Centre
• The scheme will provide a monthly stipend to each child from the age of 18 years, and a lump sum amount of Rs 10 lakh on attaining the age of 23.
• The benefits also include an annual scholarship of Rs 20,000 for school students and monthly financial support of Rs 4,000 for daily needs.
• Health coverage will be given through the Ayushman Card, and counselling through the Samvad helpline for psychological and emotional help.

Process to select beneficiaries:

• Applications for enrollment under the scheme were to be submitted via the online portal.
• Child Welfare Committees (constituted by the state governments under the Juvenile Justice Act) have been tasked with gathering facts about each case and recommending the child as a beneficiary to the District Magistrate (DM).
• The DM will then accept or reject the application and if accepted, the relevant bank accounts will be opened.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘PM CARES for Children scheme’:

1. It will be funded by PM Cares Fund.

2. Ministry for Women and Child Development will act as its nodal agency in the Centre

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer