Military Cantonment areas in India should not be deprived of the government’s welfare schemes, said Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday.

Ministry of Defence and Directorate General of Defence Estates (DGDE) organised a webinar to improve the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) in 62 cantonments around the country in Delhi.

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Singh said this webinar was an important step towards seamless delivery of benefits of various centrally sponsored schemes and in improving the overall well-being of approximately 21 lakh residents in the cantonments.

Citing welfare schemes like Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Smart Cities Mission, Mid-day meal scheme for school children etc, Singh said there should be no gaps in implementation.

He also highlighted the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives of the Ministry of Defence such as bringing out an import negative list and said that the government welcomed innovation towards achieving further economic progress.

“It was organised with the objective to have better understanding of the implementation mechanism and funding of various Centrally Sponsored Schemes and to prepare a roadmap for extending the benefits of these to the residents of cantonment areas,” said the Ministry of Defence.

The Joint Secretaries and nodal officers of the Ministries of Housing and Urban Affairs, Education, Health and Family Welfare, Social Justice & Empowerment and Women and Child Development also attended the meeting.

The deliberations in the webinar will lay the roadmap for taking the matter forward by each Cantonment Board to optimise the outreach and maximise the beneficiary cantonment areas.

Singh also launched the ‘Chhavni COVID: Yodha Sanrakshan Yojana’, a group life insurance scheme through Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), which will cover more than 10,000 employees in all 62 Cantonment Boards in the event of any unfortunate fatal calamity with an insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh each.

The scheme will benefit permanent and contractual employees including doctors, paramedics and sanitation staff.