Lok Sabha Question No. 726 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-07-23
Subject: Orphaned Children due to COVID-19
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: K. Muraleedharan, Faizal P.P. Mohammed, Jaskaur Meena, Bhartruhari Mahtab, Brijendra Singh, Ramesh Bidhuri, Kumbakudi Sudhakaran, Abdul Khaleque, Sougata Ray, V. Kalanidhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.726

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2021

## ORPHANED CHILDREN DUE TO COVID-19

## 726.   SHRI K. MURALEEDHARAN:

SHRI MOHAMMED FAIZAL P.P.:

SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA:

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB:

SHRI BRIJENDRA SINGH:

SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI:

SHRI KUMBAKUDI SUDHAKARAN:

SHRI ABDUL KHALEQUE:

PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

DR. KALANIDHI VEERASWAMY:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  a  large  number  of  children  were  orphaned  or  abandoned  due  to  COVID-19 pandemic;
- (b) if so, the details thereof indicating the estimated number of children orphaned, State/UTwise including Rajasthan;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  made  any  assessment  of  number  of  children  who  lost either father or mother or both to COVID-19 since 1st April 2021 and if so, the details thereof in all the three categories;
- (d) whether the Government has launched/ planning to launch schemes for the rehabilitation, welfare and social security of said children;
- (e) if so, the details thereof along with the targets fixed in this regard and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (f) whether the Government has issued any guidelines to the States in this regard and if so, the details thereof and the other steps being taken for protection and welfare of such children including their educational needs?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) to (f): As per information provided by States/UTs data of orphan children who have lost their parents to Covid since April 2021 to 28.05.2021 is Annexed .

The children in distress situations merit care and protection under the provisions of the Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of  Children)  Act,  2015.  The  Act  and  Rules  made thereunder mandate a safety net of service delivery structures along with institutional and noninstitutional  care  for  these  children. The  Ministry  is  implementing  a  Centrally  Sponsored Scheme namely Child Protection Services (CPS) in partnership with the State Governments/UT Administrations for delivering the institutional and non-institutional care as stipulated under the JJ Act. As per the scheme guidelines, maintenance grant of Rs.2000/- per child per month is available  for  non-institutional  care  of  children  in  need  of  care  and  protection,  along  with  the provision of maintenance grant of Rs.2160/- per child per month for Children living in Child care Institutions.

Hon'ble PM has announced PM CARES for children scheme to support children who have lost both  parents  or  surviving  parent  or  legal  guardian  or  adoptive  parents  due  to  COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme provides support for education and health and will create a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child when he or she reaches 18 years of age. This corpus will be used to give a monthly financial support/ stipend form 18 years of age, for the next 5 years to take care of his or her personal requirements during the period of higher education and on reaching the age  of  23  years,  he  or  she  will  get  the  corpus  amount  as  one  lump-sum  for  personal  and professional use.

The  Ministry  has asked  States  and  UTs  to  take  immediate  action  for  care  and  protection  of children adversely impacted by COVID 19, in accordance with the provisions of the JJ Act 2015 and Rules thereunder, while leveraging the facilities funded under the Child protection Services scheme.  The  Ministry  has  also  issued  advisories  and  guidelines  for  encouraging  COVID appropriate behavior, monitoring of Child Care Institutions and coping strategies during COVID times for mental health support to children and care givers. Guideline providing a responsibility matrix defining the role of primary duty holders has also been shared with the States/UTs.

The  States  and  UTs  have  been  jointly  requested  by  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child Development and Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education to ensure  continuity of education  of the children who  have  lost their  parents  in COVID19 pandemic, while accommodating them under the various schemes being run by DoSEL.

***

Annexure to part (a) to (f) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.726 for 23.07.2021 raised by Shri K Muraleedharan Shri Mohammed Faizal P P Shrimati Jaskaur Meena Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab Shri Brijendra Singh Shri Ramesh Bidhuri Shri Kumbakudi Sudhakaran  Shri  Abdul  Khaleque  Prof  Sougata  Ray  Dr  Kalanidhi  Veeraswamy regarding 'Orphaned Children due to Covid-19.

## As per information provided by States/UTs data of orphan children who have lost their parents to Covid since April 2021 to 28.05.2021 is as follows:

| Sl. No.   | Name of State                  |   No. of orphan children |
|-----------|--------------------------------|--------------------------|
| 1         | A&N Island                     |                        0 |
| 2         | Andhra Pradesh                 |                      119 |
| 3         | Arunachal Pradesh              |                        0 |
| 4         | Assam                          |                        3 |
| 5         | Bihar                          |                        0 |
| 6         | Chandigarh                     |                        0 |
| 7         | Chhattisgarh                   |                       16 |
| 8         | Dadra Nagar Haveli & Daman Diu |                        2 |
| 9         | Delhi                          |                        1 |
| 10        | Goa                            |                        0 |
| 11        | Gujarat                        |                       45 |
| 12        | Haryana                        |                        0 |
| 13        | Himachal Pradesh               |                       13 |
| 14        | J&K                            |                        8 |
| 15        | Jharkhand                      |                       11 |
| 16        | Karnataka                      |                       09 |
| 17        | Kerala                         |                       09 |
| 18        | Ladakh                         |                        0 |
| 19        | Lakshadweep                    |                        0 |
| 20        | Madhya Pradesh                 |                       73 |
| 21        | Maharashtra                    |                       83 |
| 22        | Manipur                        |                        1 |
| 23        | Meghalaya                      |                        1 |
| 24        | Mizoram                        |                        0 |
| 25        | Nagaland                       |                        0 |
| 26        | Odisha                         |                       10 |
| 27        | Puducherry                     |                        2 |
| 28        | Punjab                         |                       20 |
| 29        | Rajasthan                      |                       19 |
| 30        | Sikkim                         |                        0 |
| 31        | Tamil Nadu                     |                        8 |
| 32        | Telangana                      |                       23 |
| 33        | Tripura                        |                        0 |
| 34        | Uttar Pradesh                  |                      158 |
| 35        | Uttarakhand                    |                        8 |
| 36        | West Bengal                    |                        3 |
|           | Total                          |                      645 |