Shimla : Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today chaired a meeting of the Women and Child Development Department and directed the department to ensure that the benefits of all welfare schemes reach eligible beneficiaries. He also directed to develop an integrated portal for all departmental schemes to ensure seamless access to benefits and eliminate any inconvenience faced by eligible persons.
The Chief Minister directed that children in the age group of 19 to 27 years covered under the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana would also be provided Rs. 1,000 per month as pocket money. At present, the scheme provides Rs. 1,000 as pocket money to children of widows and single women up to the age of 18 years. Under the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana, the state government is currently providing benefits to 21,292 beneficiaries, with a budget provision of Rs. 40.29 crore for the current financial year. Under the scheme, the state government bears the entire cost of higher education for children of widows and single women.
He said that no child in the state should be deprived of education due to lack of financial resources. He said that the state government was also providing loans of up to Rs. 20 lakh at an interest rate of one percent for higher education to meritorious students under the Dr. Y.S. Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojana.
Sh. Sukhu directed the department to make arrangements to send 50 meritorious students each from among the beneficiaries of the Indira Gandhi Sukh Shiksha Yojana and the children of the State for exposure visits abroad. He said that the state’s resources and prosperity should also benefit disadvantaged sections of society and they must receive their rightful share.
The Chief Minister also reviewed the proposed Indira Gandhi Matri Shishu Sankalp Yojana, which envisages to ensure the availability of nutritious food in 11 districts of the state. He assured that adequate funds would be provided for the construction of nine Child Care Institutions (CCIs) in the state.
Sh. Sukhu directed the concerned authorities to expedite the construction of the Mukhyamantri Sukh-Aashray Gram Parisar at Luthan in Kangra district and complete the project by May 2027.
Principal Secretary M. Sudha Devi, Secretary C.P. Verma, Director, Women and Child Development Department, Dr. Pankaj Lalit, Director, ESOMSA, Sumit Khimta, and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
Maximum temperature 35
September 21, 2026
