Bhubaneswar : There is tremendous excitement among women with the process of submission of application forms for Subhadra Yojana aimed exclusively at their financial empowerment taking off in the state. Application forms for the BJP government’s flagship scheme for women are being made available at Anganwadi centres and Jana Seva Kendras. An applicant has to submit the filled-up form at the nearest Jana Seva Kendra. The officials will then register using the Aaadhaar number, verify and upload the scanned forms on the newly-launched Subhadra portal and a receipt of the same will be given to the applicant.
There are around 35,000 Jana Seva Kendras across the state and the government has entrusted them for authentication of biometrics and e-kyc. These centres have taken necessary steps for smooth collection of the forms.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced the ‘Subhadra’ scheme, named after the sister of lord Jagannath. It has got the approval of the state legislative assembly. The scheme has secured an outlay of Rs 55,825 crore and will be implemented from the fiscal year 2024-25 to 2028-29.
Subhadra aims to transform the lives of over 1 crore women across the state. Eligible women aged between 21 and 60 years will receive Rs 10,000 per annum in two instalments on Rakhi Purnima Day and International Women’s Day. Over five years, each beneficiary will receive a total of Rs 50,000.
To ensure transparency, payments will be made directly to beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts. Additionally, a Subhadra Debit Card will be issued, and women with maximum digital transactions in each Gram Panchayat and Urban Local Body will receive an incentive. However, women from well-off families and government employees are excluded. The Women and Child Development Department will establish a Subhadra Society for monitoring and implementation, aiming for a prompt rollout.
The opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has criticized the scheme saying that it excludes women under the age of 18 and above 60. The BJD, which was in power for 24 years without a break, had also sought to empower women through Mission Shakti which organised women from across the country into self-help groups (SHGs) engaging in financially remunerative activities. Later the role of women SHG members was expanded further to include activities ranging from mid-day meal distribution to collecting water bills from individual households.
The scheme will be formally launched on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on September 17 and benefit over 1 crore women of the state. The distribution of the first instalment will also commence from the same day.
After the launch of the online portal for Subhadra Yojana, subhadra.odisha.gov.in, Deputy chief minister Pravati Parida said, “All information regarding the ambitious scheme will be made available on the portal. The applicants need to submit a photocopy of their Aadhaar card along with the application form. The application form can be submitted at Mo Seba Kendras or Jana Seva Kendras.”
She added that the applicants need not have to pay any fee for the offline application form and submission. In case of any doubts, they can call the Subhadra toll-free number 14678. The Mohan Majhi government will be providing Rs 10,000 every year in two equal instalments on Raksha Bandhan day and March 8 marking the International Women’s Day. The entire amount of Rs. 50,000 will be paid in a period of five years. The opposition raised a ruckus over the scheme even in the state assembly but the ruling BJP asserts that it is the best possible scheme for the empowerment of women and will produce much better results than Mission Shakti.
