E-Paper
Inter-caste marriages on the rise as couples seek to avail benefits of govt. scheme
In the year 2018-19, a total of 661 couples availed the benefit of the scheme; in 2019-20, a total of 5,242 couples benefitted from the scheme
In 2020-11, the state government launched a scheme to encourage inter-caste marriages in a bid to eradicate caste discrimination in the state. Under the scheme, if a boy/girl from the general category married a girl/boy from the scheduled caste, the Centre pooled in 50% of the amount along with the state government and gave ₹50,000 as incentive to every such couple. The money was transferred to the bank account of the newlyweds. According to the social welfare department which is executing the scheme, more than 19,000 couples have benefitted from the scheme and the government has distributed more than ₹100 crore to the beneficiaries in the past five years. In the past financial year itself, the government has distributed as much as ₹27 crore to inter-caste couples under the scheme.
In the year 2018-19, a total of 661 couples availed the benefit of the scheme; in 2019-20, a total of 5,242 couples benefitted from the scheme; in 2020-21, around 4,000 couples benefitted from the scheme; in 2021-22, the beneficiaries rose to 4,100; and in 2022-23, the number touched 5,460 couples.
Assistant commissioner Ravindra Kadam from the social welfare department, said, “The state and central government is jointly implementing this scheme and giving ₹50,000 to every inter-caste couple. This scheme is being executed through the Zilla Parishad.”
The criteria to avail benefits under this scheme is that one of the partners has to be from a scheduled caste/tribe or other backward class while the other has to be from the open category of the Hindu, Lingayat, Jain or Sikh community. Launched to eradicate caste discrimination and promote social harmony, the scheme is showing better results now, officials said.
