Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government today issued the final guidelines for of the Subhadra Yojana, a flagship scheme for the welfare of the women of the state who are between 21 years and 60 years of age.
Meanwhile, the Women and Child Development department sent the final guidelines of Subhadra Yojana to all the district Collectors and Municipal Commissioners for implementation.
Introduction:
- The State of Odisha has consistently demonstrated strong political will and commitment towards improving the status and condition of women. The state has enacted numerous landmark legislations, policies, schemes, and programs that prioritize and mainstream women in the development agend and make them the focus of the developmental discourse. However, a various indices show many areas still require considerable attention.
- In this context, the Government has launched Subhadra, a flagship scheme, to financially empower women, and provide safety nets to them and their families. This is comprehensive initiative that aims to uplift women thought multiple facets of their lives and to demonstrate the Government’s resolve to strengthen a social fabric that provides women with the tools and opportunities of their empowerment.
Goals as per the final guidelines of Subhadra Yojana in Odisha :
- To empower women by offering financial support, improving awareness of their rights, improving health and educational outcomes, promoting financial independence and entrepreneurship, encouraging digital financial literacy and fostering personal and professional growth.
Objectives:
- To provide a financial safety net to women and their families and improving their socio-economic profile.
- To provide income support to eligible women thereby promoting their roles as valuable members of society.
- To improve health, nutritional and educational outcomes for women and their families.
- To enhance financial inclusion by encouraging financial independence for women, enabling their economic empowerment.
- To empower women to undertake digital transactions and provide them with opportunities to do so.
- To enhance their influence and independence in decision-making process, thereby creating opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Befits under Subhadra:
- To create a sense of identity and empowerment, all beneficiaries would be provided a Subadtra Card (ATM-cum-debit card).
- All eligible beneficiaries would receive Rs 50.000 (Rs 10,000 per annum between 2024-25 to 2028-29 over a period of 5 years), provided they fulfill the eligibility conditions every year.
- The annual installment of Rs 10,000 will be credited in tow installments of Rs 5,000 each.
- The 1st installment would be released on the occasion of Rakhi Purnima and the 2nd installment on Intentional Women’s Day (08th March).
- The amount will be credited through DBT using the Aadhaar Payments Bridge System into the Aadhaar-enabled and DBT-enabled single-holder bank account in the name of the beneficiary.
- To incentivize and encourage digital transactions, the government will launch a comprehensive rewards and recognition program. Under this, 100 women in each Gram Panchayat/Urban Local Body who undertake the highest number of digital transactions, in a particular financial year in each of the GP/ULB would receive an additional of Rs 500 in their bank account. A detailed SOP for this would be notified in due course.
Targeted Beneficiaries and Coverage:
- This scheme will be operationalized in all the 30 districts of the State for the period 2024-2025 to 2028-2029.
- Any woman who meets the eligibility criteria will be covered under the scheme.
Eligibility:
The women beneficiary must meet the following eligibility criteria to avail the benefits of this scheme:
a.The applicant must be a resident of Odisha.
b. The applicant should be covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) / State Food Security Scheme (SFSS). Any woman from a family without an NFSA or 5FSS Card can apply under SUBHADRA if her family income is not more than Rs. 2.50 lakh (Rupees Two Lakhs and Fifty Thousand only).
c. To be eligible under the scheme, the applicant’s age should be 21 years or more and less than 60 years as on the qualifying date. The date of birth, as recorded in the Aadhaar card would be taken as the final date for the calculation of her age.
d. For financial year 2024-25, the woman must be 21 years or more and less than 60 years, as on 01.07.2024. Therefore, the applicant must be born on 02.07.1964 or later and born. on 01.07.2003 or earlier. The date of birth, as recorded in the Aadhaar card would be taken as the final date for the calculation of her age.
d. For 2024-25, if a woman attains the age of 21 years after 01.07.2024, she will get Rs. 10,000 per year, only for the remaining years of the scheme period. In 2024-25, women who. complete 60 years of age after 01.07.2024, will not receive the benefits for the remaining years of the scheme period.
Women falling under any of the following categories shall be ineligible to receive the benefits under the scheme:
a. Any woman receiving financial assistance such as pension, scholarship etc. of Rs.1500 per month or more or Rs 18,000 per annum or more under any State or Central Government Scheme would be ineligible.
b. Any woman who either herself or whose family member is:
1. A current or former Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA).
ii. An Income Tax Payee.
iii. An elected public representative in any Urban Local Body or Panchayati Raj Institution (excluding Ward Member / Councillor)
iv. Employed as a regular or contractual employee in State Government or Government of India or Public Sector Undertaking or Board or Local Body or Government Organization or is receiving pension after retirement. However, all workers receiving honorarium such as ASHA, Anganwadi Worker, Community Resource Person, Master Book Keeper etc. and all those engaged through outsourcing agencies would be considered, if otherwise eligible under this Scheme.
v. An elected / nominated / appointed representative in any Government Department or Undertaking or Board or Organization of Government of India or State Government. vi. An owner of a 4-wheeler Motor Vehicle except tractors, mini-trucks, small commercial vehicles and other similar light goods vehicles.
vi. The family of the applicant owns more than 5 acres of irrigated land or 10 acres of non- irrigated land.
For the purpose of this Scheme, the definition of family would be as defined in National Food Security Act (NFSA) / State Food Security Scheme (SFSS), said W&CD department.
Documents Required:
- Women applying for benefits under the Subhadra Scheme must have an Aadhaar card in their name. The Aadhaar card must be linked with the applicant’s mobile number.
- Applicants must have an Aadhaar-enabled and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)-enabled bank account.
- If the applicant does not have an Aadhaar number or if there is a mismatch in the Aadhaar card details, they need to register or correct the details under Aadhaar.
- If the applicant does not have an Aadhaar-enabled and DBT-enabled bank account, a new bank account should be opened. The applicant should ensure the bank account is Aadhaar-enabled and
DBT-enabled. They should complete the e-KYC process.
Click here to read the final guidelines of Subhadra Yojana in Odisha