After ‘Kanyashree’, West Bengal rolls out ‘Rupashree’ to help poor girls marry!

Kolkata, April 14: Giving undue importance and paying utmost attention to women empowerment, West Bengal has always been on the forefront. The government has come up with new scheme; they have come up with the ‘Rupashree’ scheme which provides one-time financial support towards the marriages of poor women.

 

The West Bengal Government has always rolled out interesting women-centric schemes, aimed at the empowerment of disadvantaged and poor women. Their ‘Kanyashree’ scheme, gave beneficiaries an annual scholarship of Rs 500 and a one-time grant of Rs 25,000 to motivate teenage girls to stay in school and delay their marriages till they were 18.

The application form for the ‘Rupashree’ scheme has been made available across the state, and interested women can fill the application form before their marriage, and submit it to the Block Development Officer (BDO) or Municipality Office. If eligible, the women will receive Rs 25,000 in their bank accounts before their weddings.

A considerable sum of Rs 1,500 crore has been earmarked for the project, which will help around 6 lakh women from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. A state government official pointed out that low-income families find it very burdensome to bear the expenses of their daughter’s marriage, and usually borrow money, at high-interest rates.

To be eligible for the ‘Rupashree’ scheme, the woman should be a permanent resident of Bengal, with an upper annual family income of Rs 1.5 lakh. She should also be of legal marriageable age. There are no minimum educational qualifications required to apply for the Rupashree scheme.

Such schemes give a boost to women empowerment and encourage the women to come up to rise in a world that welcomes new changes.