BHUBANESWAR : Days ahead of the state budget for 2024-25 fiscal, the BJP government is on the verge of finalising the modalities and eligibility criteria for Subhadra Yojana, a flagship women welfare scheme named after Devi Subhadra.
Sources said the scheme under which an eligible beneficiary will get a cash voucher of Rs 50,000, will be applicable to one woman per family and the beneficiaries should be aged between 21 years and 59 years.
Families with salaried employees in government and semi-government sectors and income tax payers will be excluded. The beneficiaries including divorced, widows or abandoned, must be local residents and women whose self-declared income is not more than Rs 1.5 lakh, either self or family are likely to be included.
While stress has been laid on the permissible expenditures for enhancing women’s socio-economic status including education, healthcare and entrepreneurial ventures, there will be certain restrictions debarring the beneficiaries from encashing the voucher on some specific items.
“The modalities are being finalised in such a way that the scheme will be live for five years with the beneficiaries getting voucher encashment of Rs 10,000 every year. A detailed guideline with the eligibility criteria and exclusions will be notified soon. A window will be opened seeking applications from eligible beneficiaries,” the sources informed The New Indian Express.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has already announced that the scheme will be launched on September 17, coinciding with the birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Majhi has invited Modi to launch the scheme.
The first cabinet of the new BJP government held hours after the swearing-in ceremony on June 12 had cleared the Subhadra Yojana, a major promise of the party in the just-concluded elections.
The Women and Child Development department had been tasked to prepare the scheme guideline and estimate the required budget.
The scheme will be rolled out after cabinet approval. Funds will be allocated for the programme in the ensuing state budget, sources said.