Rajasthan will be offering a financial package including several benefits for children who lost their parents and women widowed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Following the precedent set by several states before, the government of Rajasthan on Saturday announced a financial package for the children orphaned by Covid and the women who lost their husbands to the infection.
Under the initiative, the children whose parents died from the disease will be given Rs 1 lakh as an immediate grant, an official statement said, adding that they will be provided Rs 2,500 a month till they attain 18 years of age.
The children orphaned due to Covid-19 will be provided Rs 5 lakh assistance on the completion of 18 years, free higher secondary education besides other benefits proposed under the Mukhyamantri Corona Bal Kalyan Yojna.
Apart from the benefits offered to Covid-19 orphans, an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh and a pension of Rs 1,500 a month will be given to the women whose husbands succumbed to the infection, the official statement announced.
Priority college admissions for girls
According to the official statement issued by the Rajasthan government, Rs 1,000 a month per child and Rs 2,500 a month for school books and dress will also be given to children and widows under this scheme.
Under the Mukhyamantri Corona Bal Kalyan Yojna, girl students studying in the college will be given priority admission to hostels run by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, the official statement further reads.
Before Rajasthan, several states had announced financial aid and free education for children who had lost their parents to the pandemic. Some of these states include Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, etc.
Recently, the central government also launched the PM CARES for Children scheme, under which they will provide financial aid to students who lost their parents to the pandemic, and also free education and books so that their studies are not interrupted.
(With PTI inputs)
