11 October 2021, New Delhi: With a view to provide complete support to children, who have lost their parents owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, guidelines for the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation (PM CARES) for children scheme have been issued by the Union Government. As per the scheme, a monthly stipend will be provided from the age of 18 years and Rs. 10 lakh on turning 23 years.
The eligible children can enroll themselves between 29 May 2021 and 31 December 2021 to avail benefits of the PM-CARES for Children Scheme. It is expected that the scheme will continue till the time every identified beneficiary attains 23 years of age.
Eligibility criteria
The scheme will cover all children whose parents have passed away or are surviving parents or legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children will be entitled to benefit under this scheme beginning from 11 March 2020 (the day when WHO had declared and characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic) to December 2021.
Moreover, he/she shouldn’t have completed 18 years of age on the day of his/her parents’ death.
Entitlements under the scheme
Boarding and Lodging Support
- With the assistance of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), the district magistrate will make efforts to rehabilitate the child within her/his extended family or relatives, if possible.
- The child will be placed in foster care in case the extended family or relatives are unavailable/unwilling/not found fit by CWC or the child aged 4 to 10 years doesn’t want to live with them. This will be done after due diligence as specified under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015and rules made thereof as amended from time to time.
- If the foster family is unavailable/unwilling/not fount fit by CWC, or the child aged between 4 and 10 years or above is unwilling to live with them, then the child’s beneficiary meanseligible child beneficiaries under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
Those children above 10 years of age who are not received by relatives or extended families/foster families/not willing to live with them or child care institutions after the demise of parents may be enrolled in the following:
- Netaji Subhash Chand Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya
- Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya
- Eklavya Model Schools
- Sainik School
- Navodaya Vidyalaya
Any other residential school by the District Magistrate, subject to the respective scheme guidelines
- Efforts will be made to ensure that the siblings stay together.
- Financial support at the prevailing rates prescribed under the Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme will be provided to children for non-institutional care. Those in child care institutions will be given a maintenance grant at the prevailing rates prescribed under the Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme. Under the state scheme, any provision for subsistence support may also be given additionally to the children.
Pre-school and School Education Assistance
- Children below six years of age will get assistance from the Anganwadi services for the following:
- Supplementary nutrition
- Pre-school education/ECCE
- Immunization
- Health referrals
- Health check-up
Children below 10 years
- Admission will be provided at any nearest government or government-aided school or private school as a day scholar.
- As per the scheme guidelines, two sets of free uniforms and textbooks will be provided under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan in government schools.
- Tuition fees to be exempted under section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act in private schools.
- The fees as per the RTE norms will be provided from the PM CARES for Children scheme if the child is not able to receive the above benefits.
- Payment for uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks will also be covered under the scheme.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the PM CARES was founded on 27 March 2020. It is aimed at strengthening the fight against the pandemic.
