Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday rolled out a special financial package, which includes free education and stipends, for children who have lost their parents due to the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. The financial assistance which includes a Rs 10 lakh fixed deposit will be provided from the PM CARES Fund.

The Prime Minister said, “In such trying times it is our duty, as a society, to care for our children and instil hope for a bright future. All children who have lost both parents or a surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents due to Covid 19 will be supported under ‘PM-CARES for Children’ scheme.

While announcing these measures the Prime Minister emphasized that children represent the future of the country and the country will do everything possible to support and protect children so that they develop as strong citizens and have a bright future.

He also added that the measures being announced have only been possible due to the generous contributions to the PM CARES Fund which will support India’s fight against COVID-19.

The Prime Minister’s office issued a statement which provided the following details about the schemes that have been launched :

·         Fixed Deposit in the name of the child:

PM CARES will contribute through a specially designed scheme to create 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/ stipend from 18 years of age, for the next five years to take care of his or her personal requirements during the period of higher education and

·         On reaching the age of 23 years, he or she will get the corpus amount as one lump-sum for personal and professional use.

·         Free School Education: For children under 10 years

·         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.

·         PM-CARES will also pay for expenditure on uniforms, textbooks and notebooks.

·         Free School Education: for children between 11-18 years:

·         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/ extended family, then he or she 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.

·         PM CARES will also pay for expenditure on uniform, text books and notebooks.

·         Support for Higher Education:

·         The child will be assisted in obtaining education loan for Professional courses / Higher Education in India as per the existing Education Loan norms. The interest on this loan will be paid by the PM CARES.

·         As an alternative, scholarship equivalent to the tuition fees / course fees for undergraduate/ vocational courses 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 lakhs.

·         The premium amount for these children till the age of 18 years will be paid by PM CARES.