Question

Difficulty: HardState Government Schemes and Welfare Policies

With reference to the flagship social security program 'Lakshmir Bhandar Yojana' implemented by the State Government of West Bengal, which of the following statements accurately describes its core beneficiary eligibility criteria, social category benefit differentials, and excluded categories?

  1. It provides direct monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 for general category women and ₹1,200 for SC/ST women aged 25 to 60 years, while excluding households with members in permanent government employment.Answer
  2. B
    It grants a uniform monthly assistance of ₹1,500 to all resident women irrespective of social category, provided they are enrolled as active self-help group members and have no minimum age requirement.
  3. C
    It provides a one-time conditional cash transfer of ₹25,000 directly to female students upon remaining unmarried until reaching 18 years of age and pursuing higher education.
  4. D
    It offers conditional financial support specifically targeted at pregnant and lactating mothers for the first two live births, managed by the State Health and Family Welfare Department.

Answer

It provides direct monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 for general category women and ₹1,200 for SC/ST women aged 25 to 60 years, while excluding households with members in permanent government employment.
The Lakshmir Bhandar Yojana, launched by the West Bengal government, provides monthly income support to female heads of families aged 25 to 60 years. Following the 2024 enhancement, general category women receive ₹1,000 per month and SC/ST women receive ₹1,200 per month. Permanent government employees and government pensioners are excluded from the scheme.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the target demographic and age brackets specified under Lakshmir Bhandar Yojana.
The scheme targets female heads of households in West Bengal within the age bracket of 25 to 60 years.
Establishing the age bracket eliminates options claiming no age limit or targeting school-going adolescent girls.
2
Analyze the financial disbursement structure across different social categories following recent policy revisions.
General category beneficiaries receive ₹1,000 per month, while beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) receive ₹1,200 per month.
This confirms that benefit amounts are differential rather than uniform or structured as a one-time grant.
3
Verify exclusion criteria regarding government employment.
Women who are permanent government employees or receiving regular government pensions are explicitly ineligible.
This matches the complete operational eligibility guidelines of the scheme.

Key Concept

State Welfare Scheme Eligibility, Benefit Structure, and Exclusion Norms
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