Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari Launches Annapurna Yojana Application Form at Nabanna

Kolkata : At the state secretariat Nabanna, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari formally released the application form for the Annapurna Yojana, a new social welfare scheme aimed at providing monthly financial assistance of ₹3,000 to women in need. The announcement emphasized that submitting the application form is mandatory to avail the scheme’s benefits.

While unveiling the scheme, Chief Minister Adhikari clarified the strict eligibility criteria set by the government. Only women whose names appear on the Indian Citizenship List will qualify to receive the allowance. Additionally, beneficiaries must belong to families that do not pay income tax and should not have members employed in government or semi-government positions. The Chief Minister categorically stated that persons other than Indian citizens will not be eligible for financial aid under this scheme.

In a significant development, the Chief Minister announced that applicants who have applied under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and those registered with the Statelessness Identification and Resolution (SIR) Tribunal will be eligible to participate in the scheme. Furthermore, beneficiaries from the previous ‘Lakshmi Bhandar’ scheme will have their names transferred automatically to the Annapurna Yojana list.

The financial assistance will be credited directly into beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts on a monthly basis. The government has planned a 90-day process to ensure that the Annapurna Yojana beneficiary list is accurate and free from errors.

Applications can be submitted both online and offline. For those opting for offline submission, special support will be provided during scheduled ‘Janakalyan Shivirs’ (Public Welfare Camps) on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of this month. To avoid future grievances and guarantee that aid reaches only the deserving, officials have been instructed to collect detailed family information during the application process.

The launch of the Annapurna Yojana marks a crucial effort by the state government to empower women financially while maintaining transparency and integrity in welfare distribution.