Gruha Lakshmi Scheme Registration Partially Suspended In Karnataka

The Karnataka government has temporarily halted the registration process for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme starting Thursday. The decision was made by the Department of Women and Child Development in Karnataka to prevent any confusion during the disbursement of the initial Rs 2000 installment to beneficiaries.

In an official statement, the Department of Child and Women Development assured that registrations will resume shortly, and they will announce a specific date for the continuation of the process.

The Gruha Lakshmi scheme was launched by the Karnataka government in late August, with an event held in Mysuru featuring Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and the party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. This program offers a monthly cash assistance of Rs 2,000 to female heads of households in the state. During the launch event, Gandhi facilitated the transfer of funds directly into the bank accounts of Gruha Lakshmi Yojana beneficiaries via the direct benefit transfer (DBT) system.

Additionally, the state government allowed modifications to ration cards from September 1st to September 10th, enabling eligible individuals to access the benefits of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. Originally, only women listed as heads of the family on ration cards, as well as those holding Below Poverty Line (BPL), Above Poverty Line, and Antyodaya cards, were eligible for the program, and changes to ration cards were not permitted. However, the Food and Civil Supplies Department reported that more than 600,000 BPL cardholders had male heads of the family.

To date, a total of 13 million women have registered for the Gruha Lakshmi scheme. The state government has allocated Rs 17,500 crore for the program in the current fiscal year and is planning to allocate around Rs 32,000 crore for the next fiscal year.