Rs 3,600 crore credited to over 40 lakh beneficiaries to safeguard livelihoods of vulnerable women: Assam minister

Assam government transferred Rs 3,600 crore to nearly 40 lakh beneficiaries under the flagship Orunodoi Scheme 3.0, ensuring uninterrupted financial support to vulnerable women across the state ahead of the upcoming elections.

Assam Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass said the government’s decision to release a lump sum payment of Rs 9,000 per beneficiary was taken to safeguard the livelihoods of economically vulnerable women who depend on the scheme for their monthly sustenance.

Under the welfare programme, widows, differently-abled women, unmarried women and divorcees receive Rs 1,200 per month through direct benefit transfers. However, with elections approaching, the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct could potentially delay such payments. To prevent this disruption, the government decided to advance the payments in a single instalment.

“This is not only in Assam, but perhaps the first time in India that such a large transfer has been made at one go,” Dass said, describing the move as a measure driven by “a very bona fide intention.”

He explained that if the scheme’s beneficiaries were unable to receive their monthly support during the election period due to the code of conduct, their daily lives could be severely affected. “That is why, as the Chief Minister has said, the government has decided to provide ₹9,000 in one go so that their lives are not disrupted until a new government is formed,” the minister added.

The Orunodoi Scheme, one of Assam’s flagship social welfare programmes, focuses on providing direct financial assistance to women from economically weaker households. The initiative has been widely credited with strengthening financial security for women and improving household welfare in rural and urban areas alike.