Rs 4,000 monthly stipend for Covid orphans: PM Modi

NEW DELHI:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday released the benefits of the PM Cares scheme for children who lost their parents to Covid. He said Covid orphans will get a monthly stipend of Rs 4,000 to meet their basic needs. 

Besides, the government will provide financial support for their schooling, scholarships for higher studies and free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh under Ayushman Bharat. 

They will also receive emotional counselling through the Samvad helpline for psychological help, he added. Once they turn 23, they will receive Rs 10 lakh as support. 

“If someone needs an education loan for professional courses or higher education, then PM Cares will help,” Modi said.

The scheme aims to ensure comprehensive care and protection of children in a sustained manner by providing them boarding and lodging, empowering them through education and scholarships, and equipping them for self-sufficient existence.

A total of 9,042 applications were received from 33 states and 611 districts, out of which 4,345 applications were approved.

The highest number of Covid orphans to benefit are from Maharashtra (790), followed by Uttar Pradesh (441), Madhya Pradesh (428), Tamil Nadu (394), Telangana (256), Andhra Pradesh (351), Gujarat (223), Karnataka (221) and Rajasthan (206).

The Centre launched the initiative on May 29, 2021, to support children who lost their parents or legal guardians or adoptive parents or a surviving parent to Covid between March 11, 2020, and February 28, 2022.