Modi to release benefits under PM CARES for Covid-hit children tomorrow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will release allowances under the PM Cares for Children scheme on Monday (May 30) via video conferencing.

Last year, on May 29, the government had launched the initiative for the welfare of Covid affected children. The scheme aims to support children who lost their parents, legal guardian, adoptive parents or surviving parents to Covid-19 from March 11, 2020, to February 28, 2022.

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A passbook of PM CARES for Children, and a health card under Ayushman Bharat - Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana will be handed over to the children during the programme.

"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 ₹10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age and ensuring their wellbeing through health insurance," the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement.

According to a report by news agency PTI, children along with their guardians and the district magistrates concerned will join the event through virtual mode. The event will also be attended by ministers, MPs and MLAs of the respective states and union territories.

An online portal - pmcaresforchildren.in has also been created to register the children, who were orphaned during the Covid-19 pandemic. The portal is a single-window system that facilitates the approval process and all other assistance for children under the scheme.

(With inputs from agencies)