Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 29 May, announced that children who lost their parents or guardian due to COVID-19 will receive support for primer and higher education and a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh.
“In such trying times, it is our duty, as a society, to care for our children and instil hope for a bright future,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minster’s Office.
Apart from support for education, the child will be provided monthly financial support when he or she turns 18 years of age for five years.
Here is what the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme offers:
School Education: For Children Under 10 Years
According to the scheme, the child will be given admission in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar. If the child is admitted in a private school, the fees as per the RTE norms will be given from the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme.
PM CARES will also pay for expenditure on uniforms, text books, and notebooks.
School Education: For Children Between 11-18 Years
As per the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme, the child will be given admission in any central government residential school, such as Sainik School, Navodaya Vidyalaya, etc.
In case the child is to be continued under the care of guardian, grandparents or extended family, then he or she will be given admission in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya or in a private school as a day scholar.
Support for Higher Education
The child will be assisted in obtaining education loan for professional courses and higher Education in India, as per the existing education loan norms. The interest on this loan will be paid by the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme.
As an alternative, scholarship equivalent to the tuition or course fees for undergraduate as per government norms will be provided to such children under central or state government schemes.
For children who are not eligible under the existing scholarship schemes, PM CARES will provide an equivalent scholarship.
Health Insurance
All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh. The premium amount for these children till the age of 18 years will be paid by the ‘PM CARES for Children’ scheme
Fixed Deposit
Through a specifically designed scheme, the PM CARES will fund a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child when he or she reaches 18 years of age. This corpus will be used to give a monthly financial support for the next five years to take care of his or her personal requirements during the period of higher education.
Once the child turns 23, he or she will receive the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use.
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