Odisha Reviews Progress of Subhadra Yojana; Over 1 Crore Women Receive Financial Aid

Bhubaneswar: To enhance women’s welfare and economic empowerment, the Government of Odisha held a high-level monitoring and review meeting of the Subhadra Yojana at Lok Seva Bhavan today. The meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja, brought together senior officials from the Women and Child Development Department and associated departments to assess the implementation status and chart the way forward for the state’s flagship women-centric initiative.

Opening the session, Chief Secretary Ahuja commended the Women and Child Development Department for executing the Subhadra Yojana within 100 days of Cabinet approval. He lauded the seamless disbursement of two financial installments using an integrated government system and urged officials to integrate other welfare schemes to offer a holistic support ecosystem for women beneficiaries.

Providing an update on the scheme’s implementation, Women and Child Development Director Monisha Banerjee revealed that the Subhadra Yojana has received a total of 1.09 crore applications. Out of these, the first installment has been disbursed to 1.02 crore women, while the second installment has reached 1.0096 crore beneficiaries. Around 5.82 lakh women were excluded based on 15 eligibility criteria, which include ownership of four-wheelers, high-income households, government employment, and receipt of pensions.

She further informed that 93,792 women aged 60 and above have been excluded from the third installment for FY 2025–26. To ensure continued support for these senior citizens, a proposal was put forward to link them with schemes under the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department.

The meeting also reviewed operational procedures such as beneficiary data updates facilitated through helpdesks at local Sarpanch offices and ongoing financial audits to ensure transparency and efficiency in scheme implementation.

A major focus of the discussion was the “Subhadra Review” program — a collaborative evaluation exercise undertaken by the Women and Child Development Department, the Higher Education Department, and IIM Sambalpur. Initial findings show encouraging trends, with many beneficiaries reportedly investing the financial assistance in entrepreneurial and income-generating activities, aligning with the scheme’s core objective of fostering economic self-reliance among women.

Grievance redressal mechanisms were also reviewed. The Subhadra portal has logged over 3.51 lakh complaints so far, of which 1.83 lakh have been successfully resolved. The “Kuha Subhadra” women-led complaint resolution centers are receiving over 20,000 submissions daily, ensuring swift response and follow-up, as noted by Principal Secretary Shubha Sharma.

Concluding the session, Chief Secretary Ahuja reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to inclusive development. He emphasized that Subhadra Yojana plays a critical role in advancing Odisha’s vision of building a self-reliant and empowered society by uplifting women, particularly at the grassroots level.