Raje launching the Bhamashah scheme. PTI image
After labour reforms, planning to change the Land Acquisition Act and even doing away with its planning body, the Rajasthan government has now re-started a direct benefit transfer scheme to transfer subsidies to the poor in the state.
Under the Bhamashah scheme announced by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, bank accounts will be opened in the names of women for 1.5 crore families. Benefits will be directly transferred to their accounts instead of male heads of families.
Raje has said that the government has made a provision of Rs 600 crore this year, adding that bank accounts in the names of women will be opened when they register for the card, and monetary benefits of state government schemes will be transferred directly to their accounts.
Under the scheme, the women heads of families will be issued a smart card with their biometrics, much like the central government scheme of Aadhaar.
"The Bhamashah scheme will empower women and promote financial inclusion," Raje said while re-launching the new avatar of a scheme that was launched towards the end of her tenure in 2008 but was discontinued by her successor.
According to a Business Standard report, the Rajasthan government is hopeful of recording the biometric data of all women in the state by the end of March next year.
The report says other benefits of the scheme include free health insurance up to Rs 30,000 for routine illnesses and Rs 3 lakh for major ones and there are special cards for students and differently-abled people so that they can avail of benefits like financial aid if they aren't staying with their families.