‘Gruha Lakshmi Scheme’ will pay allowance to women family heads in Karnataka; Check eligibility

Seva Sindhu Gruha Lakshmi Scheme launched by the new Karnataka State Government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah will pay a monthly maintenance stipend of Rs. 2000 to women who are the head of a household. The programme will be launched by CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and Rahul Gandhi. The government website says, “This scheme will provide financial assistance to approximately 1.20 Crore women in the state” of Karnataka. “It is a welcome initiative by the Karnataka Government to empower women and improve their lives.”

The website further explained, “The scheme will provide financial assistance to lakhs of women in the state, helping them to meet their basic needs and improve their living standards. The scheme is also expected to boost women’s economic participation and contribute to the overall development of Karnataka.”

The Congress during the Karnataka Elections promised 5 schemes in their manifesto as their pre-poll promises. They have launched three of them already namely ‘Shakti’ which is a scheme through which women can avail of free transport in select state-run buses across Karnataka. The state government reportedly released Rs. 125 crores for transport corporations. The second scheme the Congress govt. has implemented is ‘Gruha Jyoti’  wherein registered people who use less than 200 units of electricity don’t have to pay any electricity bill. Thirdly, the ‘Anna Bhagya’ scheme which pledged to provide an additional 5kg of free rice to every member of a BPL household. However, the Siddaramaiah government later said, “Around 22 lakhs Below Poverty Line (BPL) households may not get benefits under the Karnataka government’s Anna Bhagya scheme immediately as they do not have bank accounts.”

The fourth scheme to this list of freebies is the Gruha Lakshmi programme for which the government of Karnataka has earmarked Rs. 17,500 crores in the current financial year.

The Gruha Lakshmi programme entitles women heads of the family to get a monthly allowance of Rs. 2000 from the annually allocated Rs. 32000 crores amount the government has substantiated for this scheme.  

Women listed as family heads on Antyodaya, BPL (Below Poverty Line) Ration Card, APL (Above Poverty Line) Ration Card are eligible for the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme, however, only one woman from a family can avail the scheme as only one woman has been determined as the beneficiary from each eligible family that applies.

Women who are government employees, tax-paying self-employed women, or women who belong to families that pay income tax or file for GST (Goods and Services Tax) returns are not eligible for the scheme.

The eligible women will be required to produce their Above Poverty Line Ration Card/Below Poverty Line Ration Card/Antyodaya Card, Bank-linked Aadhar Card, Bank Details like account number, IFSC Code etc., Aadhar-linked phone number.

To register for the schemes that started 19 July 2023, one can text on the  SMS number i.e. 8147500500 or visit the website link https://bsk.karnataka.gov.in. Alternately, they can apply offline as well in the nearest office.

While all seems well and good for now, the Hindu Business Line came up with an article substantiating why these “freebies promised by Congress in Karnataka may be hard to sustain in the longer run.”

The Congress is left with one more scheme to be implemented now which is the ‘Yuva Nidhi’ scheme which pledges the unemployed youngsters a maintenance amount as well.

These allocations will drain the taxpayers’ money. We shall all see if the Congress government can keep up the appeasement at this dear cost. Karnataka’s MLAs top the wealth charts – Richest MLA holds assets over ₹1,400 crore