India, March 1 -- West Bengal's ambitious Yuva Sathi scheme, pitched by Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee as a lifeline for educated unemployed youth, has snowballed into a major fiscal challenge for the debt-strapped state government.

Launched on February 15 amid huge fanfare and a multi-media publicity blitz, the program drew over 81 lakh applications by Thursday's deadline-more than double the government's initial estimate of 30 lakh and nearly three times the 27.8 lakh beneficiaries it can realistically support under its Rs 5,000 crore budgetary allocation.

The scheme promises Rs 1,500 monthly assistance for five years (or until employment) to graduates aged 21-40 earning less than Rs 10,000. With reg...