West Bengal Launches ‘Annapurna’ Scheme With Rs 3,000 Monthly Aid For Women

The West Bengal government on Tuesday officially notified the ‘Annapurna Yojna’ financial assistance scheme for women, replacing the existing ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ programme and announcing a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 to eligible beneficiaries from June 1.

The notification, issued by the state’s Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department, outlined the eligibility criteria, application process, and conditions for continuation of benefits under the revamped scheme.

According to the notification, women aged between 25 and 60 years will be eligible to receive the assistance provided they are not permanent government employees, pension recipients, or income tax payers. The financial support will be credited directly into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of beneficiaries through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.

The government stated that all existing beneficiaries under the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme would automatically be migrated to the new ‘Annapurna Yojna’. However, certain categories including deceased, shifted, deleted and absentee electors identified during SIR-2026 verification exercises would be excluded from the beneficiary list.

The notification also clarified that beneficiaries who have filed appeals before the SIR tribunal or applications under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would continue to receive financial assistance until their cases are disposed of.

It further stated that names of dead or shifted beneficiaries would be periodically removed from the records in future to maintain updated beneficiary data.

The state government also announced that an online application portal for fresh applicants would be launched on June 1. New applications will be verified by authorised government officials or representatives of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), depending on the applicant’s place of residence.

District magistrates will function as sanctioning authorities for applicants residing in districts, while the commissioner of the KMC will approve applications within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area.