E-Paper
133k phased out, over 250k await inclusion in MMSY
Under MMSY, the flagship scheme of the Hemant Soren government, women in the 18–50 age group receive ₹2,500 every month through direct benefit transfer (DBT). The scheme was first launched in August 2024, when the government started giving ₹1,000 per month to beneficiaries.
Around 133,000 beneficiaries who crossed the age bar of 50 have been phased out of the Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojna (MMSY) in the past year, even as nearly 250,000 applications from newly eligible women who turned 18 during the same period are pending for addition, people close to the developments said on Tuesday.
Under MMSY, the flagship scheme of the Hemant Soren government, women in the 18–50 age group receive ₹2,500 every month through direct benefit transfer (DBT). The scheme was first launched in August 2024, when the government started giving ₹1,000 per month to beneficiaries.
In its last cabinet meeting ahead of the Jharkhand assembly elections in November 2024, the government gave its nod to raise the amount to ₹2,500 per month. On January 6, 2025, chief minister Hemant Soren released ₹2,500 each to 5.6 million beneficiaries.
Officials in the social welfare department said the number of beneficiaries has reduced since then by over 500,000, largely on account of the filtration of ineligible beneficiaries as well as those who crossed the age bar of 50.
“As per the latest compiled data, money was transferred to 5.104 million
beneficiaries in October. In November, the number came down to 5.098 million. The December amount is yet to be disbursed, but the number has been reducing gradually. Names of around 430,000 beneficiaries were deleted during the filtration carried out in the first few months after the scheme was launched. Additionally, the names of 133,776 beneficiaries were struck off on age grounds during the year,” an official said.
“The system is designed in such a manner that the names of beneficiaries who cross the age of 50, as per the date of birth provided in the system, get deleted automatically. However, no new names have been added as applications need to be scrutinised and updated on the portal physically before they are included in the list of beneficiaries of the scheme,” the official added.
People aware of the development said nearly 250,000 applications from those who crossed the age of 18 are pending across the 24 districts of the state. These applications are being accepted at block offices, besides being received during the annual Sarkar Aapke Dwar outreach programme of the state government.
While no official order has been issued imposing any embargo on clearing the applications, they are lying in abeyance due to reasons unknown. Social welfare department secretary Manok Kumar did not respond to phone calls and messages seeking clarity on the issue.
The Hemant Soren government has made a budgetary provision of ₹13,363.35 crore for MMSY, which is 14.56 per cent of the planned outlay and 9.21 per cent of the total budget size of ₹1.45 lakh crore. This is the single biggest spending by the government on any welfare scheme.
