Kolkata, Feb. 5 -- The Bengal government announced the "Banglar Yuva Sathi" scheme, offering Rs 1,500 monthly allowance to unemployed youth aged 21-40, and increased Lakshmir Bhandar benefits, a move being considered a masterstroke ahead of Assembly polls.
The Interim Budget announced a rise in monthly allowance to the state's women under the government's flagship Lakshmir Bhandar scheme by Rs 500.
With the announcement of this hike, the women from the general category will now get Rs 1500 per month, while women from the scheduled tribes and scheduled caste categories will get Rs 1700 a month.
The state also allocated an additional Rs 15,000 crore for this scheme over the Rs 17,000 crore spent in FY26. A massive 2.4 crore women between 25-60 years of age who do not hold a government job will also get this amount monthly.
Under "Banglar Yuva Sathi", unemployed youths aged between 21 and 40 will receive a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500 until they secure a job or for a maximum period of five years. The government plans to roll out this scheme on 15 August if the Trinamool Congress returns to power after the elections. "More than 1.72 crore people have been brought out of poverty. Implementation of 94 social protection schemes have provided security to our people in life and livelihood, said Finance minister Bhattacharya.
She added that more than 2.5 crore jobs have been created in the state in the private sector, public sector and self-employed space. Nearly 93 lakh MSMEs, the second highest in India, operate in Bengal, contributing 36.40% of female MSME entrepreneurs of the country.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.