PM CARES for Children

What is PM CARES for Children?

PM CARES for Children is a scheme announced by the Prime Minister on 29 May 2021 and administered by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, for children who were orphaned by the COVID-19 pandemic. PM CARES for Children was created for a specific and closed group: children who lost both parents, or their surviving parent, or a legal guardian or adoptive parent, to COVID-19, and who had not completed 18 years of age on the date of that death.

The scheme is funded from the PM CARES Fund and delivered through the district administration. According to the Ministry of Women and Child Development, PM CARES for Children operates in all districts across all states and union territories, and detailed scheme guidelines were issued on 5 October 2021.

The design is unusual among Indian schemes because the main financial benefit is deliberately delayed. Rather than paying money out at once to a household that may not survive intact, the scheme builds a corpus of Rs 10 lakh in the child's own name, uses it to generate a monthly stipend from the age of 18, and hands over the Rs 10 lakh itself when the beneficiary turns 23, the point at which education is typically finished and adult life begins.

Is PM CARES for Children still open for new enrolment?

This is the question most readers actually have, and it deserves a plain answer: fresh enrolment is effectively closed.

Three facts together explain why.

• The registration window has passed. Registration on the PM CARES for Children portal opened on 29 May 2021 with a deadline of 31 December 2021, which the Ministry of Women and Child Development extended to 28 February 2022.
• The qualifying death period has ended. Only COVID-19 deaths from 11 March 2020, the day the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, up to 5 May 2023, when the WHO declared the end of the global public health emergency, are covered. A death after that date does not qualify, so no new eligible cohort can form.
• The scheme now runs for its existing cohort. PM CARES for Children continues to operate, but as a long-running commitment to the children already identified, whose benefits run until each of them turns 23.

What this means in practice: if you are searching for PM CARES for Children in 2026 hoping to enrol a newly orphaned child, this is not the scheme for that child. Mission Vatsalya, the Ministry's umbrella child protection scheme, is, it pays Rs 4,000 a month for sponsorship, foster care or aftercare and takes fresh cases at any time through the District Child Protection Unit.

If you believe a genuinely eligible child was missed during the enrolment window. A COVID-19 death within the qualifying dates, a child who was under 18 at the time, no surviving parent — the correct step is still to take the case, with the death certificate, to the District Magistrate, who is the verifying authority under the scheme guidelines, and simultaneously to the District Child Protection Unit so that the child is at least brought into Mission Vatsalya. Do not assume the case will be accepted, and do not pay anyone who promises to get a name added.

What does PM CARES for Children provide?

Financial support

• A corpus of Rs 10 lakh in the child's name. According to the official portal, a pro-rata amount is credited upfront so that the fund reaches Rs 10 lakh by the time the child turns 18, and the lump sum is transferred into the post office account of the beneficiary once the account is opened and validated.
• A monthly stipend from the age of 18 to 23, generated by investing the corpus.
• The Rs 10 lakh lump sum paid out on attaining 23 years of age.
• Rs 4,000 per month under Mission Vatsalya while the child is under 18, where the child is placed in sponsorship, foster care or a Child Care Institution.

Education

• Admission support in the nearest Kendriya Vidyalaya, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya or a private school.
• A scholarship of Rs 20,000 per child per annum for children in Classes 1 to 12, towards books, uniforms and supplies.
• For higher education: education loans through partner banks, interest support under the Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme, supernumerary seats in professional and polytechnic institutions, and AICTE scholarships including the AICTE Swanath scheme.

Health

• Enrolment under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY with Rs 5 lakh of health insurance cover, continuing until the beneficiary turns 23.

Care and rehabilitation

• Boarding, lodging and care through the extended family, foster care, or a Child Care Institution, decided by the Child Welfare Committee under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015.

Who is eligible for PM CARES for Children?

A child is covered if:

• The child lost both parents, or the surviving parent, or a legal guardian or adoptive parent or single adoptive parent, to COVID-19.
• The death occurred between 11 March 2020 and 5 May 2023.
• The child had not completed 18 years of age on the date of that death.

A child is not eligible if:

• One parent is alive. A child with a surviving parent cannot apply under this scheme, however difficult the family's circumstances. Mission Vatsalya sponsorship is the route for such a child.
• The parent's death was from a cause other than COVID-19, or the death certificate does not record COVID-19.
• The child had already turned 18 when the parent died.
• The death occurred after 5 May 2023.

Families cannot apply directly to the PM CARES Fund trust or to the Prime Minister's Office. Verification of every case rests with the District Magistrate, assisted by the District Child Protection Unit and the Child Welfare Committee.

How to apply or follow up under PM CARES for Children

Because fresh enrolment is closed, these steps are for caregivers of children already identified under the scheme, and for anyone raising a case they believe was wrongly left out.

1. Gather the core documents, the parent's death certificate showing COVID-19 as the cause, the child's birth certificate or age proof, the child's Aadhaar, and the caregiver's identity proof.
2. Approach the District Magistrate's office, which is the verifying authority under the scheme guidelines, and file a written representation with copies of the documents. Keep a receipt or acknowledgement.
3. In parallel, contact the District Child Protection Unit or call Child Helpline 1098 so the child is registered under Mission Vatsalya, which accepts fresh cases and pays Rs 4,000 a month.
4. For a child already enrolled, verify on the portal at pmcaresforchildren.in that the child's record, post office account and Aadhaar details are correct and active.
5. Confirm that the child's PM-JAY card has been issued and is usable at empanelled hospitals; a card that was never collected is the commonest gap.
6. Claim the Rs 20,000 annual school scholarship through the school and the District Child Protection Unit, and keep school enrolment records updated each year.
7. Report any change of guardian, address or school to the District Child Protection Unit, since the stipend and scholarship follow the child's current record.
8. Escalate unresolved problems in writing to the State Child Protection Society and to the Ministry of Women and Child Development at pmcares-children.wcd@nic.in.

How PM CARES for Children fits with Mission Vatsalya

PM CARES for Children is administered alongside Mission Vatsalya, the Ministry of Women and Child Development's umbrella child protection scheme, and the two work together rather than competing. Mission Vatsalya supplies the machinery, District Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees, Child Care Institutions, sponsorship and foster care: while PM CARES for Children supplies the corpus, the scholarship and the health cover for this specific group of children. A PM CARES for Children beneficiary under 18 is also entitled to the Rs 4,000 monthly Mission Vatsalya support while in non-institutional care.

Help and grievance redressal

• Child Helpline: 1098, toll-free, round the clock
• District Magistrate of the child's district. The verifying authority
• District Child Protection Unit at the district collectorate
• Scheme email: pmcares-children.wcd@nic.in
• Official portal: pmcaresforchildren.in

There is no fee at any stage. No official, agent or intermediary is authorised to charge money for enrolling a child, releasing a stipend, or arranging a school admission under PM CARES for Children, and no genuine officer will ask for the child's account OTP or password.