The Central government is looking to invest a massive amount that was not part of the 2021 budget in preschools or daycare centres across the country. This was after a closed-door meeting that took place after each ministry was ordered by the PMO to plan for any and all contingencies in the years to come.
The lack of preparedness for the second wave of the COVID19 virus with many hospitals running out of beds and oxygen cylinders across the country had seriously dented the credibility of the government. The central government had to take most of the heat but the public soon realised that the state governments had to be held accountable as well.
While experts across the world warned of a second wave and countries like the UK and parts of Europe experiencing the second wave almost like clockwork, the government’s decision to not react had drawn sharp criticism from the opposition and also from the general public. We were more concerned with holding elections, political rallies and as many religious festivals as possible.
The false sense of victory over the COVID19 virus ensured that the laxity with which we approached the whole severity of the situation resulted in deaths, economic stagnation and a sense of despair. The constant infighting between the central and state government only made matters worse. This proved that the life of the common man was always the least priority when compared to mudslinging and one-upmanship between the central and state governments.
In a surprising move, our sources within the PMO has told us that the HRD ministry was all set to announce a mega nationwide wide project that looks to establishing preschool/daycare centres across the country.
Tentatively titled Pradhan Mantri Balak Aur Balika Yojna or PMBABY, the new scheme plans to provide subsidised but high-quality preschool services for working parents in both urban and rural areas. These centres will be set up by the central government and will look to have a student-teacher ratio of 25:1.
Although not free, the central government will foot 30% of the fees at these centres and the remaining 70% will be Tax-exempt under the 80C provision of the Income Tax laws of the country. This facility will be open for both private and public sector employees.
The PMBABY scheme will also be an employment program where 50% of the staff will be retired teachers and the rest being comprised of UPS aspirants. It is also rumoured that all IAS selected candidates will have to spend 1-year teaching at these centres.
Our source elaborated on the PMBABY scheme by saying that this was the need of the hour.
“Our experts told us about the huge baby boom that is happening across the country. With couples being locked down and families working from home, they are reconnecting on an emotional and physical level much more than usual. This had led to a surge in births during the year and there is a projection that it would only increase in the next 2 years. This means that there will be a large number of couples who will have major issues once they need to go back to the office.”
Read the full article at: http://thedailyvanilla.com/2021/06/14/indian-government-to-build-day-care-centres-across-the-country-via-pmbaby/