The Andhra Pradesh government on August 9 (Wednesday) released ₹141.60 crore towards financial assistance under the YSR Kalyanamasthu and YSR Shaadi Tohfa schemes, benefiting 18,883 girls married during April –June, 2023.
The amount would be credited into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries’ mothers.
Depositing the amount with the click of a button virtually from his camp office at Tadepalli, near here, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the schemes were introduced to help the girls from the SC, ST, BC, and minority communities, construction worker families, and the disabled pursue their education.
The government made passing Class 10 mandatory for the girls to become eligible for the schemes, besides fixing the marriage age for boys at 21.
These schemes apart, the implementation of Amma Vodi, Vidya Deevena and Vasthi Deevea were helping the girls continue their education till graduation.
The schemes would also help reduce the dropout rate and increase the enrolment ratio in the schools and colleges, the Chief Minister said.
“The intended results are tangible, as 7,344 girls out of 8,524 beneficiaries in the age group of 18-21 are graduates,” he said.
Asserting that education was the panacea for driving away poverty and other ills from society, Mr. Jagan Mohan Reddy said the other intention of the schemes were to prevent poor families from falling into debt trap.
“Parents want their girls to have good education and lead a happy life,” he said, adding that Kalyanamasthu and Shaadi Tohfa would go a long way in helping the poor families realise the dream.
The Chief Minister said that in the last nine months, ₹267. 20 crore had been disbursed to 35,551 beneficiaries under the scheme.
“In this third tranche, we have included 227 couples who missed the benefits for various reasons in the first two tranches,” he said.
“Unlike the TDP government, we are sincere in implementation of the scheme,” he added.
While the SC, ST, BC, and minority beneficiaries had received ₹40,000, ₹50,000, ₹35,000, and ₹50,000 each during the TDP rule, the YSRCP government hiked the amounts to ₹1,00,000, ₹1,00,000, ₹50,000, and ₹1,00,000 respectively, the Chief Minister said.
While the differently-abled people and construction workers had been promised ₹1,00,000 and ₹20,000 each during the TDP rule, the YSRCP government hiked the benefit to ₹1,50,000 and ₹40,000 respectively, he added.
Similarly, the incentive for the SC, ST, and BC beneficiaries who opted for inter-caste marriage went up to ₹1,20,000 each (₹75,000 earlier), ₹1, 20,000 (₹75,000 earlier) and to ₹75,000 (₹50,000 earlier) respectively.
A few beneficiaries from various districts thanked the Chief Minister for implementing the schemes.
Ministers M. Nagarjuna, K.V. Usha Shricharan, P. Ramachandra Reddy, D. Prasada Rao, and K. Satyanarayana, and Chief Secretary K.S. Jawahar Reddy were among others present.
