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Baljit Kaur, Punjab Minister of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities on Monday addressed a press conference regarding the Ashirwad Scheme of the Punjab Government and said that Rs 34 crore has been released for the beneficiaries in seven districts of the state.
Under the scheme, a monetary aid of Rs 51,000 is given to the girls belonging to the beneficiary community for their marriage. Addressing the press conference, Kaur said, "About Rs 34 crore has been released to seven districts of Punjab for girls belonging to SC and other categories. Orders have been issued to ensure that this amount reaches all the girls by June 30." She added further, "Districts like Firozpur, Patiala, Barnala, and Gurdaspur among others are included." The minister also spoke to ANI about the scheme and said, "The girls covered under the Ashirvad Scheme include SC, OBC, and the weaker section (poor girls) and the money that we give to them is for their marriage." "Today, we distributed the amount to more than 6000 girls in seven districts. The remaining districts will also be covered by the end of this month," Kaur said. Originally named as Shagun Scheme, a monetary aid of Rs 5100 was being given to the parents/guardians of girls belonging to SC and widows/divorcees of Punjab domicile on the occasion of their marriage since April 1, 1997, subject to the condition that annual income of parents/guardians from all sources does not exceed Rs 16,000, according to the official site of the scheme. The scope of the scheme was extended to Christian girls at the time of their marriage from September 1, 1997 on the same terms and conditions. The scheme was renamed Ashirwad on January 26, 2004 and under this scheme, the amount was enhanced from Rs 5100 to Rs. 6100 for SC/Christian girls and daughters of widows of any caste at the time of their marriages. The financial assistance was enhanced from Rs 6100 to Rs15000 from April 1, 2004. The aid was further increased to Rs 21,000 from July 1, 2017. From July 1, 2021, the financial assistance was increased to Rs 51,000. To make the scheme fair and transparent, 'Ashirwad Portal' was launched on November 15, 2022 by Baljit Kaur. Currently, financial aid of Rs. 51,000 is given to SC/Christian girls, Backward Classes, Economically weaker sections girls, daughters of widows of any caste at the time of their marriage and SC widows/divorcees at the time of their re-marriage. The girl should be 18 years old or above and the annual income of the family from all sources does not exceed Rs 32,790. (ANI)
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