Kolkata, June 22 -- The BJP government's maiden budget in West Bengal on Monday earmarked Rs 36,000 crore for Annapurna Yojana, a revamped version of the erstwhile Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, with budget estimates indicating coverage of one crore women beneficiaries, substantially lower than the around 2.4 crore beneficiaries under the TMC administration's flagship welfare programme. Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta announced the allocation while presenting the 2026-27 budget in the Assembly, describing the scheme as a major component of the government's welfare agenda. According to budget calculations, the allocation would only be sufficient to cover one crore beneficiaries at the promised assistance level of Rs 3000 per month under the scheme. The figure is significantly lower than the beneficiary base claimed by the previous TMC government under Lakshmir Bhandar.
Introduced in 2021, Lakshmir Bhandar emerged as one of the most popular welfare schemes of the Mamata Banerjee government, providing monthly financial assistance to women from eligible households. The scheme was subsequently expanded, and the TMC government had claimed that around 2.4 crore women were receiving benefits. The BJP had, during its election campaign, promised to continue direct financial assistance to women while restructuring the scheme and increasing the amount of support. After assuming office, the government rechristened the programme as Annapurna Yojana. Government sources said the scheme has been designed with revised eligibility norms and enhanced verification mechanisms aimed at ensuring that benefits reach intended recipients and eliminating alleged duplication. The state government has said it already weeded out 30 lakh beneficiaries based on verification. The government had sought online applications requiring family details, which has caused concerns and apprehensions about disclosing family income and other household details. The BJP maintained that the objective is to make welfare delivery more targeted and fiscally sustainable while ensuring support for genuinely eligible beneficiaries. The Annapurna allocation forms a significant part of the welfare expenditure outlined in the BJP government's first budget, which also seeks to improve the state's fiscal health. Presenting the budget, Dasgupta said the government inherited a debt burden of Rs 8.15 lakh crore but remained committed to fiscal prudence without compromising on welfare commitments.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.