1.5cr Annapurna applicants verified, 2cr mark in sight
Times of India | 15 August 2026
Kolkata: The number of beneficiaries under the Annapurna Yojana is expected to reach 2 crore or more, prompting the finance department to anticipate an additional expenditure of at least Rs 12,000 crore over and above the Rs 36,000 crore budgetary allocation for the first eight months of the current fiscal.
On Friday, state minister of women & child development and social welfare Malati Rava Roy told TOI that around 1.8 crore applications for Annapurna Yojana scheme have been submitted while around 1.5 crore of them have already been verified. “The verification process is on and the disbursement will start from Monday,” the minister said.
Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari has already stated that the expenditure to run the Annapurna Yojana may go up to Rs 48,000 crore-Rs 50,000 crore as more women across the state will be brought into the fold of this direct benefit transfer scheme. The CM also mentioned that the state is ready to shoulder the additional expenditure needed to extend the benefit of Rs 3,000 monthly financial aid to more eligible beneficiaries.
Till last month, 1.2 crore women had received the allowance. The officials stated that the govt had allocated Rs 36,000 crore in the budget, pegging the number of beneficiaries at 1.5 crore. “Given this allocation, it was calculated that nearly Rs 4,500 crore would be spent from the state exchequer to transfer the benefits to around 1.5 crore women. Now that more beneficiaries are being added and the number may touch or cross 2 crore, a primary estimation shows that around Rs 6,000 crore would be spent per month to run the scheme. As the verification of applications submitted is on, the exact number of beneficiaries for this scheme has not been ascertained so far,” said the official.
Going by the CM’s previous announcement, the direct benefit transfer under this welfare scheme will begin from Monday. Those who submitted error-free applications by July 10 will get the money while those who had applied between July 11 and 31 may face delay.
Lakshmir Bhandar, introduced by the previous Trinamool Congress govt, had 2.21 crore women beneficiaries in the last financial year, each receiving a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500. With the applicants for Annapurna Yojana scheme being under scrutiny now, the exact number of beneficiaries will bank on how many applications are approved, according to officials.
The beneficiaries who were worried, having not received the money this month, are looking forward to their turn in the first phase of disbursement that will kick off on Aug 17. Basanti Sardar, a domestic help, said, “I availed myself of the benefit after Annapurna Yojana was rolled out. As I heard that the applications are being verified, for which the payment delayed, I am worried whether I will get the money credited to my bank account on Monday. I use this benefit to pay medicine bills of my husband who is ill and cannot work.”