YS Jagan releases Rs 81.64 crore crore under YSR Kalyanamasthu, Shadi Tohfa

AMARAVATI: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday released Rs 81.64 crore towards the fourth tranche of YSR Kalyanamasthu and YSR Shaadi Tohfa to benefit girls married during the quarter July-September 2023.

The amount, benefiting 10, 511 couples, would be directly credited into the bank accounts of their mothers. So far, a total of Rs 348.84crore was disbursed to as many as 46,062 beneficiaries under the scheme. Depositing the amount virtually at his camp office in Tadepalli here, the Chief Minister said that the scheme aimed at helping girls from the poor SC, ST, BC, minority communities, construction worker families and the disabled to pursue their education.

YS Jagan said, “The State Government has made class X mandatory for the girls and their grooms to become eligible for the scheme and also fixed the marriage age limit for girls and boys as 18 and 21 respectively. These conditions, coupled with other welfare schemes like Vidya Deevena, Vasathi Deevena and Amma Vodi, help the girls continue their education at the college level also besides avoiding child marriages, reducing drop-out rate and increasing the GRE (Gross Enrolment Ratio) in schools and colleges.”

The Chief Minister said it was a matter of happiness that 8,042 girls out of 10, 511 beneficiaries had also received the benefits of Amma Vodi, Vasathi Deevena and Vidya Deevena indicating that majority of them are pursuing college education. Reasserting that education is the only weapon that eliminates social ills like poverty and transforms the society into a dynamic one, the Chief Minister said that the Kalyanamasthu scheme also worked as an additional factor towards this transformation.

YS Jagan said that while the TDP Government implemented the scheme for name sake and ditched 17,709 girls, the present Government introduced it with good intention and has been implementing it with commitment. While SC, ST, BC, and minority beneficiaries got Rs 40,000, Rs 50,000, Rs 35,000, and Rs 50,000 each during the TDP rule, the YSRCP Government hiked it to Rs 1,00,000, Rs 1,00,000, Rs 50,000, and Rs 1,00,000 respectively, he added.

While the differently-abled people and construction workers received Rs 1,00,000 and Rs 20,000 each respectively in the TDP rule, they would now get the hiked benefit of Rs 1,50,000 and Rs. 40,000 respectively, YS Jagan said. Similarly, the incentives of SC, ST, and BC beneficiaries who opted for inter-caste marriage went up to Rs 1,20,000 from Rs 75,000 each, to Rs 1, 20,000 from Rs 75,000 each, and to Rs 75,000 from Rs 50,000 each respectively, the Chief Minister added.