Chandigarh, October 18:
The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has distributed Rs. 129.29 crore of amount to 25399 beneficiaries under the Ashirwad scheme during current year. A budget of Rs. 161.31 crore has been earmarked for Ashirwad scheme during the current year.
Giving more information in this regard, Minister of Social justice, Empowerment & Minorities Dr. Baljit Kaur said that the government is committed to the welfare of people of scheduled castes, backward classes and economically weaker sections.
The Cabinet Minister further said that under the Ashirwad scheme, financial assistance of up to Rs. 51,000 is given by the State Government for the marriage of girls belonging to low-income families in the state.
Dr. Baljit Kaur pointed out that in order to avail the Ashirwad scheme, the applicant should be a permanent resident of Punjab state, family should fall in BPL category, the applicant should belong to Scheduled Caste, Backward Classes and other economically weaker families and all the family members’ annual income from all sources is less than Rs. 32,790. Two daughters of such a family are eligible to avail the benefit of this scheme.
The minister added that the financial assistance is credited directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, which are being linked with Aadhaar and so far 96 percent of the bank accounts have been linked with Aadhaar.
