Bhubaneswar: After approval of SOP, the State Government today issued the guidelines for Subhadra Yojana, under which Rs 10,000 will be provided to each beneficiary every year in two equal instalments for a period of five years.
The finance assistance scheme, named after the sister of Lord Jagannath, was one of the major promises made by the BJP for women in its election manifesto in Odisha.
According to the guidelines issued by the Women and Child Development department, the applicant should be a native of Odisha and her age should be 21 years old or above and below 60 years on the cut-off date. So the beneficiary’s birthday should be between July 2, 1964 and July 1, 2003.
For the 2024-25 financial year, the cut-off date is July 1, 2024. For the next four years, the government will decide on the date later.
The women from economically well-off families, government employees, or income taxpayers will not be eligible for the scheme. Women receiving Rs 1,500 or more a month or Rs 18,000 or more per year from any other government scheme will also not be eligible for Subhadra Yojana, the guidelines said.
In case of death of the beneficiary, the assistance will be discontinued and the family members cannot demand it.
Each beneficiary will receive Rs 10,000 per year in two installments of Rs 5,000 each — one on Rakhi Purnima, and the other on International Women’s Day (March 8). Over five years, each eligible woman will receive a total of Rs 50,000.
Funds will be deposited directly into the beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts and they will also receive a Subhadra Debit Card.
Additionally, in an effort to promote digital transactions, 100 beneficiaries with the highest number of digital transactions in each gram panchayat and urban local body will receive an extra incentive of Rs 500.
The government has formed a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary for proper monitoring of the scheme. Similar panels will also be formed in districts, blocks and urban bodies.
It was expected that the number of beneficiaries for the scheme would be more than one crore.
Therefore, Development Commissioner Anu Garg has written a letter to the DGP asking him to issue instructions to all concerned to take necessary precautionary measures to avoid any untoward incidents during implementation of the scheme.
The DGP was asked to take strict legal action against any middleman or unscrupulous elements detected during the process.
The DC also requested the DGP to deploy adequate police personnel at appropriate locations in consultation with the District Collectors/ Municipal Commissioners.
“You are also requested to alert your team to remain vigilant and act on any tips/ information received and take strict legal action against any middleman or unscrupulous elements detected during the process,” Shrimati Garg said in her letter to the DGP.