PM-CARES FUND

The government has announced a special “PM-CARES for Children” scheme for all those orphaned due to Covid-19.

Also, the Supreme Court has ordered the district authorities to upload the details of children in need of care and protection on NCPCR (National Commission for Protection of Child Rights) portal Bal Swaraj.

Important points:

• Children who have lost both parents or their lone surviving parent or their legal guardian or adoptive parent due to Covid-19.
• There are a total 577 Covid-19 orphans identified across the country. Also, there has been a rise in cases of child trafficking.
• A corpus of Rs. 10 lakh will be allocated to each of these children from the PM CARES fund.
• This corpus will be used to give a monthly stipend from 18 years of their age, for the next five years 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.
• The education expenses of younger children will be supported by way of admission to Kendriya Vidyalayas and private schools up to higher secondary level.
• These children will also be supported during their higher education through either a scholarship equivalent to the tuition fees or educational loans where the interest on the loan will be paid by the PM-CARES fund.
• All children will be enrolled as a beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Scheme with a health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakh.
• The premium amount will be paid by PM-CARES till a child turns 18.

PM-CARES Fund

• The government has set up the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM-CARES Fund) to deal with any kind of emergency or distress situation like posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
• The Fund is a public charitable trust with the Prime Minister as its Chairman. Other Members include Defence Minister, Home Minister and Finance Minister.
• The Fund enables micro-donations as a result of which a large number of people will be able to contribute with the smallest of denominations.
• It will strengthen disaster management capacities and encourage research on protecting citizens.
• Contribution to PM – CARES Fund Qualifies as CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Expenditure.

Bal Swaraj COVID-Care

• The NCPCR has devised an online tracking portal “Bal Swaraj (COVID-Care)” for children in need of care and protection.
• This has been created with a purpose for online tracking and digital real time monitoring mechanism of children who are in need of care and protection.
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights
• NCPCR is a statutory body set up in March 2007 under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
• It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Women & Child Development.
• The Commission’s mandate is to ensure that all laws, policies, programmes, and administrative mechanisms are in consonance with the child rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and also the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• It inquires into complaints relating to a child’s right to free and compulsory education under the Right to Education Act, 2009.
• It monitors the implementation of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

SOURCE: THE HINDU,THE ECONOMIC TIMES,MINT