Child Schemes in India

Table of Content

1. Overview of Government Child Schemes in India

2. Key Categories of Child-Focused Government Schemes

3. How Government Schemes and Financial Planning Work Together

4. HDFC Life Savings Plans for Children

There are many government child schemes in India for the welfare and to ensure the holistic development of children. Some schemes support a child’s nutrition and health, education, finances, protection and more.

Alongside these initiatives, life-insurance-backed savings plans can help parents prepare for their child's future education, healthcare, and milestone-based expenses. They also offer life cover, which may help ensure continuity of long-term financial goals in unforeseen circumstances. Read ahead; to learn about government child schemes in India and their role alongside long-term financial planning.

Overview of Government Child Schemes in India

India offers several Central and State Government schemes aimed at supporting children’s education, welfare, health, and financial security. Some of these initiatives include:

1. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY): It is a high-interest savings scheme where parents can open a dedicated tax-free account for a girl child under the age of 10.

2. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP): This scheme was launched to counter the gender bias in the education of the girl child. As per the Indian Government, for 2026-27, ₹28,183 crore has been allocated to this scheme¹.

3. National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS): This scheme provides financial aid of ₹12,000 per year² to meritorious students from economically weaker sections to prevent dropouts.

4. Samagra Shiksha: This program is for students from pre-school to class 12. This is one of the child schemes in India that aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education.

5. PM Poshan (Mid-Day Meal): This scheme provides free hot cooked meals to school-going children to improve nutritional status and school attendance.

Key Categories of Child-Focused Government Schemes

Since there are several child schemes in India, you might be wondering - what are the different kinds of government schemes that support children in India? Well, below is a list of 4 such broad categories of government schemes:

1. Education and Scholarship Schemes

These kinds of government schemes try to equalize the opportunity for education for all children in the country. They provide certain financial aid so that a child, even from an economically weaker section of society, is able to continue their studies. This category includes schemes such as the NMMSS and Samagra Shiksha.

2. Girl Child Welfare Schemes

This child scheme in India aims to empower the girl child in the country. It focuses on girl-child protection, education encouragement, savings, and empowerment. Some of the key schemes under this category include Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and Balika Samridhi Yojana.

3. Savings and Investment-Oriented Schemes

These kinds of schemes allow families to save for future expenses of their child. It provides long-term savings, a post-birth grant, and annual scholarship benefits to support education and other future needs. Some of these schemes include the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana.

4. Health and Nutrition Programmes

Government schemes under this category aim to improve child nutrition and encourage school attendance. Plus, some of the schemes also support child protection and wellbeing. Some of the primary schemes under this category include PM Poshan (formerly Mid-Day Meal) and Mission Vatsalya.

How Government Schemes and Financial Planning Work Together

Child schemes in India provide the groundwork for the children of this country. They support education, nutrition, protection, and much more. On top of this, it becomes the responsibility of the family and a child’s parents to financially protect their child's future through proper planning.

Parents can do this through long-term financial planning. Along with child insurance and term insurance, those looking for a post office saving scheme for boy child can also consider suitable Post Office savings options to build a corpus for future education and other financial needs. For example, investing in term insurance can be essential for a child's continued future funding even after the unfortunate demise of a primary earning member of their family.

HDFC Life Savings Plans for Children

Life-insurance-based savings plans can help families build a structured corpus for future child-related goals. These goals can be anything from education to healthcare. Solutions from HDFC Life encourage disciplined long-term saving during the parents’ earning years.

These plans offer life cover protection, which can help families maintain their child’s financial plan in case of unforeseen events. It is essential to remember that, depending on plan type and features, benefits under the plan may vary.

There are several life insurance plans that a parent can choose from. They can select plan variants on the basis of affordability, goals, and timelines. Plus, they can use these plans along with government child schemes in India for holistic planning.

Note: Since all features depend on policy terms, you must review the sales brochure and policy wording before deciding what plan to invest in.