NEW DELHI, Aug 7: About 4,264 applications received on the PM Cares for Children portal have been rejected, the government said on Wednesday, listing non-eligibility as the reason for rejection under the scheme for children orphaned during the Covid pandemic.
The scheme was launched by the prime minister to support children who have lost both parents or legal guardian or adoptive parents or surviving parent after March 11, 2020.
Women and Child Development (WCD) Minister Annpurna Devi told the Rajya Sabha that 9,331 applications have been registered on the PM Cares for Children portal from 613 districts in 33 states/UTs.
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Out of these, 524 applications were duplicate, she said in a written response.
Thus, 8,807 applications were reviewed by district level child welfare committees and district collectors or district magistrates (DMs), the minister said.
Based on the final approval of DMs, 4,532 beneficiaries are receiving benefits under the scheme and 11 other applications are in the pipeline for release of benefits, Devi said.
The remaining 4,264 applications were not found eligible by DMs. However, registration under the scheme is still open so that no eligible applicant is left behind, she said.
This WCD ministry acts upon cases approved or finalised by DMs for transfer of benefits under the scheme. No application is being processed for eligibility at the central government level, Devi added.
The PM-Care programme saw a significant number of applications across various states and Union Territories (UTs) in 2021 with a total of 6,360 beneficiaries. Out of these, 3,953 were approved by DMs, 1,985 rejected and 422 declared duplicates, according to data shared by Devi.
Maharashtra had the highest number of registrations at 1,107, with 713 approvals. Andhra Pradesh had 473 registered beneficiaries, with 338 approvals, while Delhi reported 266 registrations with only 124 approvals, the data showed.
Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh were among the states and UTs that showed high approval rates, whereas Bihar and Odisha had notably high rejection rates.
There was a decline in the number of registrations in 2022 compared to the previous year.
The total for 2022 was 2,754 registered beneficiaries, with 454 approvals, 2,205 rejections and 95 duplicates.
In 2022, Rajasthan saw 1,253 registrations but only 13 were approved. Maharashtra had 388 registrations, with 128 approvals and Andhra Pradesh registered 38 beneficiaries, with 13 approvals.
The overall trend in 2022 reflected a higher rejection rate across many states, the data showed.
In 2023, the registrations significantly dropped, with Bihar reporting 12 registrations and nine approvals. Delhi registered eight children, all of whom were approved as beneficiaries under the scheme.
Madhya Pradesh registered 69 beneficiaries, with only four approvals and a high rejection rate of 65. Maharashtra had 16 registrations with 14 approvals, the data showed.
The overall numbers for 2023 were much lower, with a total of 211 registered beneficiaries, 125 approvals, 74 rejections and five duplicates, and seven applications still under process.
For 2024 till now, the numbers further decreased, showing a continuing trend of lower registrations.
Only a handful of registrations were reported: Karnataka had one, Madhya Pradesh two, Meghalaya two and Uttar Pradesh one, with no approvals or rejections recorded yet, the data showed.
The total registered beneficiaries for 2024 were six, with no approvals or rejections, and two were found to be duplicates, while four applications were still under process. (PTI)
