The Jharkhand government is planning to implement direct cash incentives. ₹Modelled on the West Bengal government’s “Lakshmir Bhandar” scheme, officials announced on Saturday that around four million women in the state will receive $1,000 a month from July to August this year.
The first sign of this effectiveness came on Thursday, when Jharkhand’s incumbent Chief Minister (CM) Champai Soren said he had instructed officials to devise and launch a monthly cash incentive scheme for all women aged above 25 and below 50 across the state.
He also directed the officials to create a dedicated portal named “Mukhamantri Bahan Beti Swabalamban Yojna” (MBBSY) for the scheme.
“We always want to empower women and make them economically strong and self-reliant. We will provide cash assistance to every woman in the state between the age group of 25 and 50 years every month. I have instructed the authorities concerned to implement this expeditiously. The scheme is expected to be implemented by next month,” the Chief Minister told reporters after a review meeting of the Women, Child Development and Social Welfare Department in Ranchi on Thursday.
According to government estimates, the scheme will cover around 4 million women, taking into account the upper age limit of 25-50 years, and state governments will provide further assistance. ₹4,000- ₹5,000 crore annually.
Political analysts said the plan was a direct copy of Mamata Banerjee’s “Lakshmeer Bhandar” scheme, which delivered major electoral gains for the ruling Trinamool Congress party in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, and that Soren’s move was seen as another tactic to woo women voters ahead of state assembly elections just four months away.
“We are working hard to launch the scheme for all economically disadvantaged women belonging to all categories and castes. We will start collecting applications from interested parties from July 1 and will transfer the cash benefit. ₹“From August onwards, ₹ 1,000 will be directly deposited in their accounts every month,” a senior government official told HT on condition of anonymity on Saturday.
With electioneering mode in full swing, the CM also inaugurated the “Student Application Module Opening” for the Guruji Credit Card Yojna on Friday.
“The government has launched a number of loan and grant schemes like Guruji Credit Card, Mukyamantri Shiksha Protsahan, Manki Munda Scholarship etc for higher education, technical education like engineering, medicine, law etc, and competitive examinations. Under this ‘Go Live…’ module, students who are eligible for admission to higher educational institutions can apply and the government will provide them with scholarships,” he said. ₹“I will take a loan of Rs 15 lakh online,” Soren told media late on Friday night.
