Free education, Rs 10 lakh aid for Covid orphans

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 29

The Centre today announced a number of welfare measures for children who had lost both parents to Covid, including ensuring a corpus of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 18 and providing for their education.

PM CARES: monthly stipend for 5 years

• A Rs 10 lakh corpus will be created for orphaned kids when they turn 18
• Corpus will be used to give stipend for five years till the age of 23
• At 23, the corpus will be given as lump-sum for personal or professional use
• Free education in Sainik Schools, Navodaya Vidyalayas, private schools
• Rs 5 lakh health insurance till the age of 18 years
• All contributions to be made from PM Cares Fund

All such children who have lost both parents or surviving parent or legal guardian or foster parents will be supported under the ‘PM Cares for Children’ scheme. The announcement came following a meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Child panel seeks details of orphans

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has asked all states to upload on its website the details of children who had lost one or both parents to Covid.

The measures include a fixed deposit in the name of the children in which PM Cares will contribute through a specially designed scheme to create a corpus of Rs 10 lakh when they turn 18 years old.

This corpus will be used to give a monthly financial support and stipend from 18 years of age, for the next five years to take care of the child’s personal requirements during the period of higher education. On turning 23, the children will get the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use. “The child will be given admission in nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar. If the child is admitted to a private school, the fee as per the RTE norms will be given from the PM Cares. The fund will also pay for expenditure on uniform, textbooks and notebooks,” a government statement said. Children aged 11 to 18 years will be given admission in any Central Government residential school such as Sainik School or Navodaya Vidyalaya.

In case the child is to be continued under the care of guardian or grandparents or extended family, they will be given admission in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar.

Under higher education support, the child will be assisted in obtaining education loan for professional courses, higher education in India as per the existing education loan norms and the loan interest will be paid by PM Cares.

“As an alternative, scholarship equivalent to the tuition fee and course fee for undergraduate or vocational courses as per government norms will be provided to such children under the central or state government schemes. For children who are not eligible under the existing scholarship schemes, PM Cares will provide an equivalent scholarship,” the government said.

All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh and the premium amount till age 18 years will be paid by PM Cares.

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