Govt to release benefits under PM CARES for Children tomorrow

A year after launching the initiative to support children who lost parents, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release benefits under the 'PM CARES for Children' on Monday via video-conferencing.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release benefits under the 'PM CARES for Children' on Monday via video-conferencing, the Ministry of Women and Child Development said on Sunday. The government had launched the initiative on May 29 last year to support children who lost parents, legal guardian, adoptive parents or surviving parent to COVID-19 from March 11, 2020, to February 28, 2022.

In a statement, the ministry said the prime minister will transfer scholarships to school-going children. A PM CARES for Children passbook and health card under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana will also be handed over to them, it added. The children, along with their guardians and the district magistrate concerned, will join the event through virtual mode. The event will be attended by ministers, MPs and MLAs of the respective states and union territories, it said.

The objective of the scheme is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children in a sustained manner by providing them boarding and lodging, empowering them through education and scholarships, equipping them for self-sufficient existence with financial support of Rs 10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age and ensuring their well-being through health insurance. The portal "http://pmcaresforchildren.in/" is a single window system that facilitates approval process and all other assistance for children under the scheme. (PTI)