Odisha Govt Announces Guidelines For Subhadra Yojana

Bhubaneswar, Aug 26: In a major initiative for women empowerment in Odisha, the State government has announced Subhadra Yojana, which entitles a financial assistance of Rs 10,000 annually to over one crore women in the state for five years till 2028-29 fiscal.

The Women and Child Development Department on Monday released guidelines for the Subhadra Yojana.

As per the guidelines, the Subhadra Yojana will be available to all eligible women aged between 21 and 60. The candidates aged below 21 years and above 60 years on July 1, 2024 will not be eligible for the 2024-25 fiscal.

The date of birth of the beneficiaries will be considered as per their respective Aadhaar cards.

Each beneficiary will receive Rs 10,000 per year in two installments of Rs 5,000 each — one on International Women’s Day (March 8) and the other on Rakhi Purnima. Over five years, each eligible woman will receive a total of Rs 50,000.

Funds will be deposited directly into the beneficiary’s Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS). Beneficiaries will also receive a Subhadra Debit Card.

Women receiving Rs 1,500 or more per month or Rs 18,000 or more per year from any other government scheme will also be excluded from the scheme.

Women from economically well-off families, government employees, or income taxpayers will not be eligible for the scheme.

To apply for the benefits, women can fill forms available for free at anganwadi centres, block offices, Mo seva kendras, jan seva kendras, and other locations. A call centre will be established for the yojana.

The State 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.