Chief Minister of Sikkim Prem Singh Tamang on Monday announced a new scheme under which the Government will make a fixed deposit of Rs. 10,800 in the name of a New Born. Addressing the ‘Jan Bharosa Sammelan’ Program in the Soreng district, Chief Minister announced the ‘Sikkim Sishu Samriddhi Yojana’ ahead of the Assembly Elections in the State.
Prem Singh Tamang said that the fixed deposit will mature and the money can be withdrawn when the child turns 18. The Himalayan state has the lowest population in the country at 6.10 lakh, according to the 2011 census. Tamang’s Government has been taking a slew of measures to encourage couples to have more babies to fend off concerns over the ageing population. Earlier this month, the state cabinet had approved the regularisation of Government employees and the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Among these are additional increments for government employees having two or three children, maternity leaves of one year for female government employees, and financial grants for non-working mothers. At the programme in Soreng, the CM said the nearly 25,000 temporary Government employees who have completed four years in service will get the memorandum for regularisation on 29th February in Rangpo.
