New Delhi (PTI): About 51 per cent of the applications received under the PM CARES for Children scheme for COVID orphans has been rejected, according to officials.
Launched at the peak of COVID-19 cases in India on May 29, 2021, the PM CARES for Children Scheme aims to support children who lost their parents, a legal guardian, adoptive parents, or a surviving parent to the pandemic between March 11, 2020 to May 5, 2023.
According to official data, a total of 9,331 applications from 613 districts across 33 states and union territories (UTs) were received under the scheme.
However, only 4,532 applications from 558 districts in 32 states and UTs were approved, while 4,781 applications were rejected and 18 are pending approval, according to the data shared by the Women and Child Development ministry official with PTI.
No specific reason has been given by the ministry for the rejection.
Among the states, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of applications, with 1,553, 1,511, and 1,007 applications, respectively.
Approval rates in these states stand at 855 applications from Maharashtra, 210 from Rajasthan and 467 from Uttar Pradesh.
The scheme's objective is to ensure comprehensive care and protection of these children in a sustained manner, providing health insurance, educational empowerment and financial support until they reach 23 years of age.
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Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
