Objective of the scheme
To provide protracted extensive care and protection for children who have lost a parent or both parents to the COVID pandemic, including enabling their health and quality of life through health insurance, empowering them through education, and empowering them for self-sufficiency with financial support once they reach the age of 23.
The PM CARES for Children initiative, among other aspects, includes assistance to these children through a multimodal strategy, gap funding for schooling and health, a monthly stipend starting at the age of 18, and a lump sum payout of Rs. 10 lakh when they reach the age of 23.
Period
To benefit from the PM CARES for Children Scheme, eligible children must be registered between May 29, 2021 (the date of the Hon’ble PM’s announcement) and December 31, 2021. The scheme is scheduled to run until each registered recipient reaches the age of 23 years old.
Eligibility Criteria
Children who have lost both parents or a surviving parent or legal guardian/adoptive parents/single adoptive parent as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic are eligible for benefits under this scheme beginning on 11.03.2020, the date on which WHO declared and characterised COVID-19 as a pandemic, and ending on 31.12.2021. On the date of the parent’s death, the child should not have reached the age of eighteen.
Available entitlements under the scheme
a) Efforts will be made by the District Magistrate with the assistance of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) to explore the possibility of rehabilitating the child within her/his extended family, relatives, kith, or kin.
b) If the extended family, relatives, kith or kin of the child are not available/not willing/not found fit by CWC or the child (aged 4 -10 years or above) is not willing to live with them, the child should be placed in foster care, after due diligence as prescribed under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 and rules made thereof as amended from time to time.
c) If the Foster family is not available/not willing /not found fit by CWC, or the child (aged 4 -10 years or above) is not willing to live with them, the child should be placed in age-appropriate and gender-appropriate Child Care Institution (CCI).
d) Children more than 10 years old, not received by extended families or relatives or foster families or not willing to live with them or living in child care institutions after the demise of parents, maybe enrolled in Netaji Subhash Chand Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya, Eklavya Model Schools, Sainik School, Navodaya Vidyalaya, or any other residential school by the District Magistrate, subject to the respective scheme guidelines.
e) It may be ensured that the siblings stay together, as far as possible.
f) For non-institutional care, financial support at the prevailing rates prescribed under the Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme shall be provided to Children (in account with guardians). For children in institutional care, a maintenance grant at the prevailing rates prescribed under the Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme shall be given to Child Care Institutions. Any provision for subsistence support under the State scheme may also be provided additionally to the children.
ii. Assistance for Pre-school and School Education
a. For children below 6 years of age, identified beneficiaries will receive support and assistance from the Anganwadi services for supplementary nutrition, pre-school education/ ECCE, immunization, health referrals, and health check-up.
b. For children below 10 years of age
i) Admission shall be provided in any nearest school as a day scholar i.e. Government/ Government aided School/ Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs)/ Private Schools.
ii) In Government Schools, two sets of free uniforms and textbooks shall be provided, under Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, as per the scheme guidelines.
iii) In private schools, tuition fees shall be exempted under section 12(1)(c) of RTE Act.
iv) Under circumstances where a child is unable to receive the above benefits, the fees, as per the RTE norms, will be given from the PM CARES for Children scheme. The Scheme will also pay for expenditure on uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks.
c. For children between 11-18 years of age
i) If the child is living with the extended family, then admission in the nearest Government/ Government aided School/ Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs)/ Private Schools as a day scholar may be ensured by the DM.
ii) The child may be enrolled in Netaji Subhash Chand Bose Awasiya Vidyalaya/ Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya/ Eklavya Model Schools/Sainik School/ Navodaya Vidyalaya/ or any other residential school, by the DM, subject to the respective scheme guidelines.
iii) The DM may make alternative arrangements for accommodation of such children during vacations at CCIs or any appropriate place.
iv) Under circumstances where a child is unable to receive the above benefits, the fees, as per the RTE norms, will be given from the PM CARES for Children scheme. The scheme will also pay for expenditure on uniforms, textbooks, and notebooks.
d. Assistance for Higher Education:
i) The child will be assisted in obtaining an education loan for Professional courses /Higher Education in India.
ii) Under circumstances where the beneficiary is unable to avail interest exemption from extant Central and State Government scheme, then the interest on the educational loan will be paid from PM CARES for Children Scheme.
iii) As an alternative, scholarship as per the norms will be provided to the beneficiaries of the PM CARES for Children Scheme from the schemes of Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Minority Affairs, and Department of Higher Education. Beneficiaries will be assisted through the National Scholarship portal for availing of such entitlements. The scholarship awarded to the beneficiaries will be updated on the PM CARES for Children portal.
iii. Health Insurance:
a. All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme (PM-JAY) with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs.
b. It shall be ensured that the child identified under PM CARES for Children scheme receives benefits under PM JAY.
iv. Financial Support:
a. The lump sum amount will be transferred directly in the post office account of beneficiaries upon opening and validation of the account of the beneficiaries. A pro-rata amount will be credited upfront in the account of each identified beneficiary such that the corpus for each beneficiary becomes Rs. 10 lakhs at the time of attaining 18 years of age.
b. Children will receive a monthly stipend once they attain 18 years of age, by investing the corpus of Rs 10 lakhs. The beneficiary will receive a stipend till they attain 23 years of age.
c. They will receive an amount of Rs. 10 lakh on attaining 23 years of age.
Key features available to children under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY)
- PM-JAY provides a cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization, across public and private impanelled hospitals in India.
- In case of a child identified for support under PM CARES for Children, he/she shall be entitled to the cover of Rs. 5 lakh.
- PM-JAY provides cashless access to health care services for the beneficiary at the point of service, that is, the hospital.
- It covers up to 3 days of pre-hospitalization and 15 days post-hospitalization expenses such as diagnostics and medicines.
- End to end paperless
- All pre-existing conditions are covered from day one.
- Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country i.e. a beneficiary can visit any empanelled public or private hospital in India to avail cashless treatment.
- Services include approximately more than 1600 procedures covering all the costs related to treatment, including but not limited to drugs, supplies, diagnostic services, physician’s fees, room charges, surgeon charges, OT, and ICU charges etc.
- Public hospitals are reimbursed for the healthcare services at par with the private hospitals.
Benefit Cover under PM-JAY
All expenses made on the following factors of the treatment are covered under the scheme.
- Medical examination, treatment, and consultation
- Pre-hospitalization
- Medicine and medical consumables
- Non-intensive and intensive care services
- Diagnostic and laboratory investigations
- Medical implantation services (where necessary)
- Accommodation benefits
- Food services
- Complications arising during treatment
- Post-hospitalization follow-up care up to 15 days
- More information is available on the PM CARES for Children portal.
