Union government issue guidelines on the PM-Cares for children scheme aiming at providing comprehensive support for children who have lost their parents due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ministry of Women and Child Development has issue the details guidelines.
Eligible children shall be enroll from 29th May 2021 as the date of announcement by the Prime Minister to 31th December 2021 to avail benefits of the PM CARES for Children Scheme.
This Scheme is expects to continue till the year when every identified beneficiary shall turn 23 years of age.
This scheme will benefit all children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent due to Covid-19 pandemic starts 11th March 2020 the date on which WHO has declare and characterized Covid-19 as pandemic till December 2021,
The child beneficiary should not have completed 18 years of age on the date of death of parents.
This scheme is compulsary that if the extends family or relatives of the child are not available or not willing or the child (aged 4 -10 years or above) is not willing to live with them.
The child should be place in foster care after due diligence as prescribe under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and rules made thereof as amends from time to time.
Children more than 10 years old living in child care institutions after the demise of parents, maybe enroll in Netaji Subhash Chand Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Eklavya Model Schools, Sainik School, Navodaya Vidyalaya, or any other residential school by the District Magistrate, subject to the respective scheme guidelines.
Children below 6 years of age identify beneficiaries will receive support and assistance from the Anganwadi services for supplementary nutrition, pre-school education/ ECCE, immunization, health referrals, and health check-up.
This scheme provides for the admission of the beneficiary in any nearest school as a day scholar i.e. government or government-aids school or private schools, where they will be entitle to two sets of free uniforms and textbooks shall be provided, under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan.
Tuition fees shall be exempt and under circumstances where a child is unable to receive the above benefits, the fees, as per the RTE norms in private schools, will be given from the PM CARES for Children scheme.
This scheme also ensures assistance for higher education:
Child will be assist in obtaining an education loan for Professional courses /Higher Education in India.
If the beneficiary is unable to avail interest exemption from extant Central and State Government scheme then the interest on the educational loan will be paid from PM CARES for Children Scheme.
Scholarship as per the norms will be provide to the beneficiaries of the PM CARES for Children Scheme from the schemes of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Department of Higher Education.
Beneficiaries will be assist through the National Scholarship portal for availing of such entitlements.
The scholarship will be award to the beneficiaries will be update on the PM CARES for Children portal.
All children will be enroll as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs.
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