Arunachal govt extends scope of schemes for orphans, underprivileged

Itanagar, April 3 (IANS) The Arunachal Pradesh government on Wednesday decided to extend the scope of the Chief Minister’s Bal Seva Scheme (CMBSS) and enhanced the pension under the Chief Minister’s Social Security Scheme (CMSSS), officials said.

An official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the state Cabinet that met on Wednesday under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Pema Khandu decided that the CMBSS will now provide support to all registered orphaned children of the state. Earlier, the benefits of the scheme were available only to Covid-19 affected orphans.

“With the extension of scope, the scheme will also be extended to all orphaned children of the state registered under Baal Swaraj Portal, residing in Child Care Institutions and declared as ‘Child in Need of Care and Protection’ under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015,” the official told the media.

These children will be provided with financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month per child till the age of 18 years and the amount shall be in addition to any other assistance provided under Mission Vatsalya scheme under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, and a provision of a laptop or tablet for those beneficiaries who have entered Class-11, college or a vocational course.

The CMO official said that in a landmark decision to bolster social welfare, the Cabinet has approved enhancements of pension amounts under the Chief Minister’s Social Security Scheme (CMSSS).

The pension amount for all three components of the scheme — old age pension, disability pension, and widow pension — has been increased by Rs 300 per month.

Further, the age eligibility for availing widow pension has been lowered to 18 years from the existing 40 years making the Chief Minister’s Widow Pension Scheme universal.

The enhancements and lowering the age criteria for the widow pension scheme will empower the elderly, differently-abled, and widows and will benefit over 50,000 beneficiaries through enhanced social security provisions.

–IANS

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