Odisha Women Can Apply For 1st Instalment Under Subhadra Yojana Till March 7 Next Year: Pravati Parida

Bhubaneswar: Those eligible under Subhadra Yojana, the flagship cash transfer scheme of Odisha government, can submit their applications till March 7, 2025, for the first installment of Rs 5,000, Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida informed on Tuesday.

Parida, who holds the Women and Child Welfare Development portfolio, said the second instalment of the women empowerment scheme will be disbursed on International Women’s Day on March 8 next year.

Over 80.45 lakh women beneficiaries have received financial assistance so far and the process is on to cover 23.5 lakh more applicants in this fiscal. “Errors were found in 2.67 lakh applications and 22 per cent of those have been resolved. Review of ineligible beneficiaries list is underway. Physical verifications will be conducted and all those found eligible will receive the first instalment amount next year,” she told reporters.

She also appealed to beneficiaries not to crowd banks. “Do not make beeline for banks if money is not credited to your accounts. In case of mismatch in Aadhaar number and ration card, Bank mitras and other government employees will reach out to the applicants and they will receive the Subhadra amount once their Aadhaar number is linked with the bank. The scheme will remain open till all eligible beneficiaries are covered. If you register now, the money will be credited to your account in February,” the Deputy CM said.

On tribal women, who were left out of the scheme in Bonda Ghati of Malkangiri district, Parida said that the department officials have been instructed to cover them by visiting the place. “The eligible women, residing in difficult terrains and deprived of the benefits due to compliance issues, will get the assistance in next phase,” she assured.

The third phase of first instalment money was released to 20 lakh women beneficiaries on November 24. The state government had earlier disbursed Rs 5,000 each to about 60 lakh beneficiaries in two phases. While around 25 lakh women received the money in the first phase when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme on September 17, the amount was credited to bank accounts of beneficiaries in the second phase on October 9.

The government aims to cover over 1 crore women under the scheme.

Under the scheme, all eligible beneficiaries aged 21 to 60 years will receive Rs 50,000 over five years, from 2024-25 to 2028-29. Beneficiaries will get Rs 10,000 annually in two equal instalments, credited directly to their Aadhaar-enabled, DBT-linked bank accounts.