Another major news for Mahila Samman Yojana beneficiaries. A BJP government has taken charge in Delhi, and now women are eagerly anticipating the promised Rs 2500 monthly support that was part of the party’s election campaign. There’s talk that this initiative might kick off on International Women’s Day.
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Sources indicate that the Mahila Samridhi Yojana will benefit women whose household income is below Rs 3 lakh annually and who aren’t taxpayers. Officials clarified that only women aged 18 to 60, who aren’t employed in government jobs or receiving any other government aid, will qualify for this program.
It’s estimated that around 15-20 lakh women could receive this financial support.
This scheme is one of the major promises made by the BJP during the assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured its launch by International Women’s Day on March 8. According to The Indian Express, the government believes that a significant number of women meet the eligibility criteria.
An official mentioned, “We’ve had several meetings to finalize the details of the scheme. The cabinet note will be ready by tomorrow, and then it will go to the council of ministers for approval. This was one of the key topics discussed in the first cabinet meeting of the new chief minister and his team.”
Additionally, the Delhi government is setting up an online portal for registration for this scheme. Reports suggest that the IT department is also working on software to verify applications and identify eligible women. To assist in this process, the government has requested data from various departments, including the latest voter list from the Chief Electoral Officer of Delhi, which will help determine the total number of women eligible for the scheme.
There are 72 women voters registered. A source mentioned that the voter list shows over 72 lakh women registered in Delhi, with about half having cast their votes. They estimate that around 20 lakh women will qualify for the scheme. The government aims to include these eligible women. Officials have also reached out to the Food and Civil Supplies Department to gather data on women living below the poverty line in the city.
How will they figure out who qualifies?
The government is looking into getting data from the Income Tax Department to see if applicants for the scheme are taxpayers. They plan to integrate this information with the portal, along with the BPL data. Once they finalize the modules and eligibility criteria, all these data sets will be connected to the portal. The portal will also link applications to Aadhaar cards.
According to sources, the application form will ask for the name, location, address, and bank account linked to the Aadhaar card, as well as details about family members. When someone fills out the form, the portal will verify their eligibility, check if they are a taxpayer or receiving any government benefits like widow or old age pensions, and if any duplicates are found, the application will be rejected. Women over 60 years old can qualify for the old age pension.