Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday thanked the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing a special 'PM-CARES for Children' scheme for all those orphaned due to Covid-19.

This scheme will include a corpus of Rs 10 lakh for each child till he or she attains the age of 18 years, said Thakur while talking to the mediapersons after inaugurating Rs 1.50 crore 20 kiloliters liquid oxygen plant and emergency lab at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also inaugurated a modern X-ray plant, 4-D UltraSound machine and medical oxygen plant at Kamla Nehru Hospital, Shimla set up at the cost of Rs 41 lakh, Rs 67 lakh and Rs 65 lakh respectively.

Thakur said that children orphaned due to Covid-19 would be given admission in Central Schools, Navodaya Vidyalaya and Sainik Schools etc. and the expenses would be borne by the Government. He said that the Government would also bear the expenses of the students studying in private schools.

The Chief Minister said that every such student would be enrolled as beneficiary under Ayushman Bharat Yojna and the premium amount of these children would be paid by PM-CARES till they attain the age of 18 years.

The State Government is committed to ensuring welfare of such children and has initiated various schemes for their betterment, he said.

He further said that under the Chief Minister Bal Seva Yojna, every such orphaned child would be provided Rs 3500 per month out of which Rs 2000 would be provided by the Central Government and Rs 1500 by the State Government. The government would also give priority to admit such orphan children in Child Care Centres provided they are willing, he said.

He also said that orphan girls would be given priority in admission in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. The State Government would also provide Rs. 51000 to orphan girls under the Mukhyamantri Kanyadaan Yojna, he added.

Talking about the inauguration of various projects on Sunday, the Chief Minister said that a 20 kilolitres oxygen plant established at Indira Gandhi Medical College would ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply to Covid-19 patients as well as other patients. This plant would enhance the oxygen capacity of Medical College from 525 cylinders to over 1600 cylinders.

He said that the emergency Lab in IGMC Shimla would be functional 24x7.

Thakur said that the X-ray plant and 4-D ultrasound machine would provide latest treatment and diagnostic facilities to the patients in Kamla Nehru Hospital and this would also minimize their dependency on IGMC Shimla.