Jharkhand Begins Era of Welfare Governance with Cash Transfer

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Jharkhand Govt Transfers DBT to Women Beneficiaries

By Manish Anand

New Delhi, January 6: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday kicked off the flagship scheme with direct benefit transfer (DBT) to over 56 lakh women beneficiaries on the ‘Maiyya Samman Yojna’. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led state government hailed the implementation of the DBT scheme for women, saying that the key promise made to the people has now been fulfilled.

The state government transferred over ₹1400 crores to more than 56 lakh women by pressing the button at a public meeting. The women beneficiaries got two instalments under the scheme.

The state government had postponed the rollout of the scheme following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “The Opposition questioned if we would fulfil our promise made to the women of Jharkhand. They asked where we would get the money for the scheme. But we now have fulfilled the promise,” said Soren, while addressing a meeting where three lakh women were estimated to have turned out.

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The Jharkhand Chief minister spelt out a long list of possible use of the money received by the women. “You can spend the money as per your wishes. You can pay tuition fee for your children. You can buy clothes of your choice,” said Soren.

The Chief Minister also suggested that the women could spend the money for the refill of gas cylinders, as well as buying nutritious food, including meat, eggs, and chicken. The scheme is now the fulcrum of the welfare government headed by Soren.

The scheme is estimated to cost ₹18,000 crores annually. The total expenditure of the Jharkhand government for 2024-25 was proposed at ₹1.20 lakh crore. Roughly, the scheme for the DBT for women will account for 15 per cent of the total expenditure of the Jharkhand government.

Expenses on the DBT for women will also be more than the total salary burden of the Jharkhand government which was proposed at ₹16952 crores for 2024-25. It will also exceed the total expenses on education and sports by the state government, which was proposed to be ₹15194 crores in the budget for 2024-25. The health budget for Jharkhand for 2024-25 was proposed at ₹7232 crores.

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The Soren government by rolling out the implementation of the DBT for women has scaled up the welfare model of governance. The Chief Minister in too many words told women that they have to take care of the needs of nutrition and education of their children with their money.

The Jharkhand government, like other states, also has a host of social sector schemes. But by scaling up the DBT for women, the state government appears to be dropping hints that the cash transfer may be the top agenda of Jharkhand.

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About The Author

Manish Anand

Manish Anand is a senior journalist with more than two decades of hardcore reporting on beats such as Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament, BJP, Congress, Planning Commission, NITI Aayog, and scores of Union Ministries.

His past has been with The New Indian Express, The Asian Age/Deccan Chronicle, and The Statesman.

For about 15 years, Manish was also a regular commentator and host for talks on AIR on foreign affairs.

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