On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund and lauded the people of India for contributing wholeheartedly to the fund. During the meeting, PM Modi also revealed that the PM CARES for Children scheme which was launched in May this year was supporting 4345 children. During the meeting, it was announced that three eminent personalities have been nominated as new members of the Board of Trustees, while an Advisory Board to the Fund also has been formed with three members.
PM Modi welcomed Former Supreme Court Judge KT Thomas, former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Karia Munda and industrialist Ratan Tata who joined in as new Trustees of the PM CARES Fund. Along with these three, Rajiv Mehrishi, Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Sudha Murthy, Former Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, and Anand Shah, Co-founder of Teach for India were also nominated for the constitution of the Advisory Board to PM CARES Fund.
#BREAKING | PM Modi chairs meet of PM-CARES fund; Ratan Tata, former SC Justice KT Thomas (Retd), fmr Dy Speaker Karia Munda join as trustees; Sudha Murthy, Rajiv Mehrishi & Anand Shah join advisory board https://t.co/fyBXoa0vac pic.twitter.com/ZzLMUfsFrX
— Republic (@republic) September 21, 2022
According to the reports, PM Modi welcomed the new members for becoming an integral part of the PM CARES Fund and said that the participation of new Trustees would provide wider perspectives on the functioning of the fund. “Their vast experience of public life would impart further vigor in making the fund more responsive to various public needs”, PM Modi was quoted.
During the meeting, various initiatives undertaken with the aid of the fund, including the PM CARES for Children scheme which is supporting 4345 children were also discussed. PM Modi appreciated people’s support towards the fund and lauded them for contributing wholeheartedly to PM CARES Fund. It was noted that PM CARES has a broader vision for successfully responding to disaster and distress situations, not just via relief aid, but also through mitigation and capacity building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the PM CARES Fund yesterday. A presentation was made on the various initiatives undertaken with the help of PM CARES Fund, including the PM CARES for Children scheme which is supporting 4345 children: PMO pic.twitter.com/pjoJH9IEmS
— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2022
PM-CARES (Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations) Fund was first launched by Prime Minister Modi on March 28, 2020, in wake of the spread of the Chinese coronavirus. The public charitable trust famously known as PM CARES Fund is a dedicated national fund with the objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister who is the Chairman of this trust on September 13, 2020, donated Rs 2.25 lakh from his savings as an initial corpus to the PM-CARES fund.
However, PM CARES for Children Scheme was launched by PM Modi on May 29, 2021, to support children who have lost both their parents or legal guardian or adoptive parents, or surviving parents to the COVID-19 pandemic, during the period from March 11, 2020, to February 28, 2022. According to a communique from the Prime Minister’s Office, the scheme’s primary objective is to provide children with long-term care and protection by providing them with boarding and lodging, empowering them through education and scholarships, and equipping them for self-sufficiency with financial support of Rs 10 lakh when they reach the age of 23, as well as ensuring their well being through health insurance.
On May 30 this year, PM Modi released the benefits under the PM CARES for children who lost their parents to COVID-19. During the program, the Prime Minister had headed over scholarships to school-going children and had also issued a PM CARES for Children passbook to them. Further, the eligible children were provided with a health card under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. PM Modi had also announced to provide of education loans for professional courses or higher education under the fund.
