More than 3,800 kids left orphans by COVID 19 benefitted from PM CARES for Children fund

The Ministry of Women and Child Development on Wednesday told the Parliament that 3,855 children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic have been approved as eligible under the ‘PM-CARES for Children’ scheme till now.

This information was shared by the Ministry in response to a question posed by CPI (M) MP John Brittas in Rajya Sabha. Brittas sought to know whether the Government or any agency has drawn up the number of children orphaned on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also read: COVID-19: Chinese researchers discover ‘godsend’ antibody against omicron

Responding to a written question in the Rajya Sabha, Union Women and Child Development minister Smriti Irani said that of the total 6,624 applications received for support under the scheme, 3,855 have been approved.

The highest number of 1,158 applications was received from Maharashtra, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 768, Madhya Pradesh with 739, Tamil Nadu with 496 and Andhra Pradesh with 479, according to data shared by Irani.

Also read: Anti-mandate protest in Canada: Government likely to call in armed forces to break the impasse

On May 29, 2021, the PM CARES fund was announced to support children who had lost both parents or surviving parents or legal guardians or adoptive parents due to the pandemic. The scheme provides support for education and health and will create a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child when he or she reaches 18 years of age.

Also read: Spotify CEO seeks balance between creative expression, safety amid protests

When asked what steps are being taken by the government to support the children, the ministry said it is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme– Mission Vatsalya under which support is provided to states and UT governments for delivering services for children in need of care and in difficult circumstances.

Also read: Mayank Agarwal added to India ODI squad vs West Indies after COVID outbreak

“As per the scheme guidelines, the quantum of sponsorship of Rs 2000/- per child per month is available for Non-institutional care of children in need of care and protection and the provision for maintenance grant of Rs 2160/- per child per month for children living in Child Care Institutions,” the ministry said in a written statement.

Also read: New Zealand to end quarantine requirement and reopen borders

Child rights activist Bharti Ali said the number of children who have been orphaned is more than the number of applications received because people are not aware of the scheme and they don’t know how to apply.

Also read: Officials urge mask-wearing for fans attending Super Bowl

Earlier, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had told the Supreme Court that a total of 1,42,492 children had lost their parents due to the novel coronavirus. The NCPCR informed that the data was based on information uploaded by states and Union Territories on its ‘Baal Swaraj Portal-COVID care’.