India provides scholarships and counselling to those orphaned by COVID-19

India provides scholarships and counselling to those orphaned by COVID-19
May 31, 2022, 7:43 am

India-COVID deaths/Shutterstock

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (May 30) that the country's federal government will provide educational scholarships, mental health counselling and health insurance to children who have been orphaned by the coronavirus pandemic.

"For those who have lost a loved one to coronavirus, the change it has brought to their lives is so difficult," Modi said during an online event as he announced government benefits for minor children who have lost both parents to COVID-19.

More than 524,000 people have died since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic in India, according to official estimates, most of them during its devastating second wave last year, when hospitals ran out of oxygen and beds and millions fell sick.

India's federal government will provide educational scholarships, mental health counselling and health insurance to children who have been orphaned by Covid-19 - Pixabay

Under the federal government scheme, children who have lost both parents to the coronavirus from Mar 11, 2020 to February 2022 will be given, among other things, free admission to a nearby school, schoolbooks and a sum of 1 million Indian rupees (US$12,899.60) once they turn 23 years of age, according to a government statement.

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During the second wave in 2021, many children were left without a carer because both parents were ill and hospitalised with COVID-19, raising alarm bells among activists and government officials.

Source: cna

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