BJP Decides Eligibility Criteria For Rs 2,500 Monthly Grant To Women, Set To Launch Scheme On 8 March—Here's All About It

The newly formed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in New Delhi is set to kickstart its electoral promise of giving Rs 2,500 to women every month, however, with certain conditions.

The Indian Express has reported that the eligibility criteria for the grant includes women who have a yearly household income of less than Rs 3 lakh and those who are not taxpayers.

Officials have stated that the BJP government's Mahila Samriddhi Scheme will only provide grants to individuals aged between 18 and 60 who are not government employees and are not beneficiaries of any other government financial aid.

The plan was a leading pledge by the BJP during the lead-up to the Delhi Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured that it would be put into action by 8 March, on occasion of International Women's Day.

IE sources indicate that the government estimates approximately 15-20 lakh women will fulfill the required criteria. After several rounds of meetings, the modalities of the scheme were finalised.

"The Cabinet note will be ready by tomorrow, following which it will be put up for approval from the Council of Ministers. The scheme was among those taken up in the first Cabinet meeting held by the newly elected CM and the Council of Ministers,” an official was quoted as saying.

IE also reported that the Delhi government is in the process of creating an online portal for the registration of the scheme.

“A separate software is also being developed along with this portal by the IT department through which verification of all forms will be done to identify the eligible women… For the identification of women, the government has sought data from different departments,” sources told IE.

A high-ranking authority stated that the government has requested information from the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer's office to ascertain the total female population in Delhi, using the most recent electoral roll.

The government has also sought assistance from the Department of Food and Civil Supplies to gain access to data on female residents living below the poverty line in the city, according to officials.

“The government is also exploring the possibility to seek data from the Income Tax department and link it with the portal, to check if the candidates applying for the scheme are taxpayers… Similarly, the BPL data will also be integrated in the portal… After the modules are set, eligibility criteria is set, these data sets will be integrated with the portal,” a source said.

“The form will have name, location, address and bank account linked with the Aadhaar card, along with details of family members," the source said explaining that linking applications to Aadhaar cards will help in verifying and checking if the candidate is eligible, if she is a taxpayer or is availing any government scheme such as widow pension and old age pension, and if any duplicate is found, the form will be rejected.

Eligibility for the old age pension extends to women who are over 60 years of age. “As it will be linked with the Aadhaar card, the portal will easily detect the age of the candidates. For instance, if a candidate is aged above 60, the portal will not accept the form because the government already provides financial assistance to senior citizens aged above 60 years,” an official said.

Last year, authorities proposed a family income limit of Rs 3 lakh, however, the AAP government at the time did not approve it. The previous government had also set aside Rs 1,000 crore for its Rs 1,000 per month grant, so the BJP's scheme will start from the next financial year.

"The budget will be increased for the scheme and till then, the registration and eligible candidates will also be identified,” sources said asserting that there is nothing to worry until 31 March.

The Chief Secretary convened a meeting with relevant department officials to discuss arrangements for the International Women's Day celebration on 8 March, which is also the anticipated launch date for the scheme.

“The scheme will be launched and the registration process will begin. They also plan to give the money to some eligible women on 8 March, during the launch and then with the registration, more eligible candidates will avail the benefit,” an official was quoted as saying by IE.

The registration kickoff event is expected to take place at the Chhatrasal stadium in North Delhi, with the Chief Minister and all other ministers in attendance.