On Monday, August 22, Maharashtra's Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil said that the state government will bear the education expenses of college students who have lost both their parents to COVID-19. This statement was made by the Minister in a response to a question by Congress legislator Shirish Chaudhary, as stated in a report by PTI. 

While making the announcement on the floor of the State Assembly, the Minister said, “As many as 931 undergraduates and 228 postgraduate students of various government colleges have lost both their parents to COVID-19. The government will pay their fees for the entire course."

Additionally, the Minister further said that the decision will cost the state exchequer more than Rs 2 crore annually and there will be no need for the state government to pass a similar decision every year.

Meanwhile, as per a report by Hindustan Times, Maharashtra, on Sunday, reported 1,835 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours. This is the second straight day that the state has recorded less than 2,000 cases. 

As per the state health bulletin, two deaths have been reported during the same period. On Saturday, Maharashtra had seen 1,855 cases in 24 hours. A day earlier, the state had seen 2,285 cases and 5 fatalities.