- India has 2.96 crore orphaned or abandoned children, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development reported in its annual report for 2020-21 that there were 2.56 lakh children living in 7,164 child care institutions (CCIs) across the country.
Government Initiatives:
Mission Vatsalya:
- Mission Vatsalya shall include Child Protection Services and Child Welfare Services.
- It brings together services and structures to help children in distress.
Mission POSHAN 2.0:
- Mission POSHAN 2.0 shall include Umbrella Integrated Child Development Scheme – Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls, and National Creche Scheme.
Mission Shakti:
- Mission Shakti envisions a unified citizen-centric lifecycle support system for women that includes integrated care, safety, protection, rehabilitation, and empowerment to free women as they move through different stages of life.
- ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’ are two sub-schemes of Mission Shakti.
- The “Sambal” sub-scheme is for women’s safety and security, while the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for women’s empowerment.
PM CARES for Children Scheme:
- The government announced a special “PM CARES for Children” program for all children orphaned by Covid-19 who lost their parents or single parents or legal guardians or adoptive parents due to Covid-19.
- These children can also receive support through scholarships or education loans equivalent to tuition fees during their higher education, and the loan interest is paid by the PM CARES Fund.
Ayushman Bharat PradhanMantri – Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY):
- PM-JAY is a visionary scheme that aims at the fulfilment of the concept of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
- Under the scheme, medical care services such as pre and post-hospitalisation, daycare surgeries, newborn child services, etc. are provided.