By A Staff Reporter

Kathmandu, May 31: The government has allocated Rs 66.5 billion for social security allowance for the upcoming fiscal year.
Unveiling the annual budget for the fiscal year 2020/21 on Thursday, Finance Minister Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada said that Rs 1.14 billion had been allocated for the Ministry for Women, Children and Senior Citizens.
The government would introduce women empowerment programme to ensure women’s social and economic rights, said Minister Dr Khatiwada.
Job opportunity for women would be increased under the President Women Uplift Programme (PWUP), he said.
Airlifting women with labour complications under the PWUP will be given continuity in the coming fiscal year as well, he said.
Similarly, women entrepreneurship facilitation centre will be established in all local units, he said.

Social security scheme for senior citizens
The government has forwarded its plan to establish senior citizens service and meeting centre at the ward-level, said Minister Khatiwada.
So far, the health insurance scheme worth Rs 100,000 implemented by the current government for the senior citizens aged above 70 years has already benefitted 300,000 senior citizens, he said
He added that the government had aimed at extending the benefits further to 300,000 additional senior citizens in the coming fiscal year.
Minister Khatiwada said in the running fiscal year, total 300,000 poor families had benefited from public health insurance worth Rs 100,000. Free health insurance coverage would further reach 400,000 families in the coming fiscal year, he added.
The government has also forwarded its plan to ensure free health check-up for the disease like Alzheimer and other old age diseases and provide free protection to senior citizens who are living without protection.

Children welfare
The government has a plan to prepare national strategy and implement this, he added.
The government is also committed to ending child labour and make the country free from street children.
As per the government belief to protect every child, the government this year has widened the criteria of child protection allowance.
The child protection allowance which is being provided to the children of Dalit family and Karnali will now be extended to the children of Madhesi community living under the poverty line.
“The government has allocated Rs 3.76 billion for the child protection allowance expected to benefit around 1.3 million children,” said Minister Dr Khatiwada.
The government has also made an arrangement to declare streets of Nepal free of homeless people by providing shelter to the people, who are living in the streets without protection.

Support to disabled
To increase the accessibility of the people living with disabilities, the government would make the physical infrastructure disabled-friendly, he said.
To boost the morale of disabled people, the government will increase their access to education, health and social activities.
The white cane and braille-script curriculum used by visually impaired would be made free. Allowance for martyrs and conflict victims family
The government has also forwarded its plan to protect the martyrs’ families and the families of conflict victims, said Minister Dr Khatiwada, adding that it would provide skill-oriented training to those injured in democratic movements and bring them under the social security scheme.
Similarly, all the laborers and workers would also be brought under the social security scheme. For this, the government would encourage all institutions and organisations to get associated with the social security fund.

Land for landless Dalit
The government would provide land for the landless Dalits and introduce Janata Awash Programme, skill development based on novel technology and provide them easy access to education, health and sanitation.
Minister Dr Khatiwada said budget was allocated for awareness generation programme to eliminate the caste-based discrimination.
Similarly, following the household survey, poverty stricken and underprivileged families of the country would be provided with state service card. The remaining survey would be concluded by the next year.