PM Modi comes to aid: Authorises release of Rs 50,000 to orphan siblings

The siblings had found Rs 96,500 in demonetised currency notes in their locked house

Note ban, Demonetisation — AFTER NOTE BAN People lined up outside an ATM to draw money following demonetisation last year. Withdrawing currency notes is a temporary measure to curb black money and corruption

2 min read Last Updated : Oct 07 2019 | 11:59 AM IST

Prime Minister Narender Modi authorized Rs 50,000 for a brother-sister duo in Kota who had found Rs 96,500 in the form of 171 demonetised bank notes, months after the government's deadline to exchange such notes, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The children, Sooraj Banjara (17) and his sister Saloni (9) are orphans and live in a shelter home.

Apart from the money sanctioned from the Prime Minister's Discretionary Fund (PMDF), they were also insured under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Beema Yojana (PMJJBY). The insurance premium of Rs 1,710 has been released in advance for a period of five years.

After Reserve Bank of India expressed its inability to exchange such a large number of notes, the children wrote an open letter, on March 25, to the Prime Minister seeking help.

They received a letter from the PM's office dated June 6, where Modi expressing his sympathy, sanctioned money which was transferred to their accounts.

"Although the sanctioned amount and insurance premium may not be sufficient for resolution of your problems, but I am sure that such assistance will certainly reduce your problems to some extent," Modi said in the letter.

The pair were happy that the PM had responded positively to their grievance and said this would compensate for their loss to some extent. They found the demonetised notes at their paternal house only to discover they were useless.

A Kota MP, Om Birla, promised to raise the issue with the Union government, requesting for the relaxation of rules for the exchange. Some social organisations also donated Rs 25,000 to the siblings a couple of months ago. (read more)

The money was set aside by the children's mother. It was found in March when the Kota child welfare committee took the children to their paternal house in Sahrawada village.

The house was locked after the siblings had been moved to the children's home four years ago when their mother was murdered. Their father had died earlier.