Women students receiving scholarships or financial assistance of Rs 18,000 or more per year from any government scheme will not be eligible for benefits under the Odisha government’s flagship Subhadra Yojana. The Women and Child Development (WCD) department has made it clear that women applicants, aged above 21 and receiving financial assistance of Rs 18,000 per annum or more under any state or central government scheme, would be ineligible for Subhadra assistance.

Data collection from departments

The WCD department has urged the Higher Education and ST & SC Development, Minorities and Backwards Classes Welfare departments to submit comprehensive data of such students above 21 years of age, who are receiving government assistance exceeding Rs 18,000 in a single financial year. The departments have been asked to share data for two consecutive financial years, 2023-24 and 2024-25, excluding arrear-based disbursements, in a specified format.

Addressing student grievances

Since many students have submitted their grievances stating that scholarship amounts are primarily used for academic purposes and do not serve as additional financial support, the WCD department has maintained that it would be examined after receiving the data on the number of girl students who have received a scholarship of Rs 18,000 or more in a single financial year.

Current disbursements and exclusions

So far, three instalments of Rs 5,000 each have been provided to over one crore women in the state under the scheme. The state government has already excluded 1,33,691 women farmers who had sold paddy, 36,702 beneficiaries for having vehicles in their names, and 21,035 income tax payers.