The Young Chronicle: For 4th Graders November 8th, 2014 | Page 4

YOUNG CHRONICLE November 8th, 2014 Did You Know, You Could You Should Know What The Rights of All Children Are: Open a Bank Account As Soon As You Turn 10? Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started a New Scheme called the Jan Dhan Yojhna. Jan Dhan means Money for the People. This scheme lives up to its name, by empowering every household with banking facilities. What does this mean exactly? What does a bank actually do? Why do people deposit 1) money in a bank. If you are reading this, you are probably one of those few lucky children whose parents love them no end, and work very hard to provide you the best of everything. However, all children are not so lucky. That is why, the government has a mandate to take care of every Child’s Rights. These rights are the very basic requirements of a child, which should be offered to him/her at all costs. Here are the broad level rights of a child. 2) 3) Well, a bank is a place where people put in money, so that it 4) is kept safely and they earn interest on it. Typically, banks 5) offer 4-6% interest on savings. So if you deposit Rs. 1000, and keep it in a bank for a year, you could earn Rs. 60 extra if your bank gives you 6% interest. So you would have Rs. 1060 with you at the end of the year. Isn’t this cool? So if you put in more money you could earn much more. 6) Now, why does a bank give you money? When you put in money, the bank uses your money by investing in companies, property, by giving loans to people etc (typically, a bank charges 10-13% interest on loans). It earns more money (using your money), and gives you a part of it. Right to Survival: As soon as a child is born, the country needs to offer basic care. This is offered through government hospitals mostly. A child's right to survival begins before a child is born. Hence the right to survival is inclusive of the: 1) Child’s right to be born. In India, many people kill the girl child before she is born. This is a very bad practice and people can be jailed if found guilty. 2) Right to minimum standards of food, shelter and clothing. A child needs to be offered basic medicines if needed, and food even if he or she is born in a poor household. The idea behind the Jan Dhan Scheme is to empower people to run businesses, manage farms, save and spend money effectively, by making money easily accessible and 3) The right to live with dignity. For example, even if a encouraging people to deposit money in a bank and earn child is a girl, or is born handicapped, he or she has good interest. This is done, by ensuring there is a bank to be offered love and care. branch catering to every 1000-1500 households across cities and villages in India. This means, there will be a bank roughly 3 every 5 kilometres in the country. 4) Right to Protection: Why Should People Make Use of the Jan Dhan Yojhna? A basic savings bank deposit account under the Jan Dhan Scheme, doesn’t require people to maintain a minimum balance in their account. Anyone can deposit cash or withdraw money at a bank branch or through an ATM machine or cheques and other electronic payment channels. The number of withdrawals would be limited to 4, but there would be no limit on deposits. 5) 6) A child has the right to be protected. His health and welfare needs to be taken care of. He/ she should not be beaten, or taken advantage of at home or ay where else. 7) Right to Participation: 8) A child has a right to participate in any decisionmaking that involves him/her directly or indirectly. The level of involvement would differ basis the age and maturity of the child. All facilities would be available at No Extra Cost. 9) Right to Development: More importantly, any one over 10 years of age Children have the right to education, love and care, can open an account. food, and play.