Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme

Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme

Subject: Government Schemes

Context: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) recently said his government is ready to spend Rs 80,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore for Dalit Bandhu, touted as the country’s biggest direct benefit transfer scheme, to empower Dalits across the state.

Concept:

What is the Telangana Dalit Bandhu scheme?        

• Dalit Bandhu scheme or programme, is a movement that the state government will pursue with the Centre for nationwide implementation.
• Dalit Bandhu is the latest flagship programme of the Telangana government. It is envisioned as a welfare scheme for empowering Dalit families and enable entrepreneurship among them through a direct benefit transfer of Rs 10 lakh per family. This is, once implemented on the ground, going to be the biggest cash transfer scheme in the country.
• A Dalit empowerment programme on these lines was first announced in the state budget earlier this year.
• It was decided that 11,900 Dalit families, 100 each from 119 Assembly constituencies in the state, would be selected for cash assistance of Rs 10 lakh each without any bank guarantee to start their businesses. An initial outlay of Rs 1,200 crore was sanctioned.
• The funds allocated for the scheme would be over and above the funds earmarked for the SC Sub Plan
• The benefits of the scheme is intended to the poorest of the poor will be top priority,
• It will be implement it on a pilot basis in the Huzurabad Assembly constituency. Based on the experiences of implementation in Huzurabad, the scheme will be rolled out across the state in a phased manner.
• The financial assistance given by the government through Dalit Bandhu is free. This is not a loan. There is no chance of any middlemen in this. Eligible beneficiaries will get the assistance in their bank accounts
• The government plans to create a corpus called the Dalit Security Fund permanently to support the beneficiary in the event of any adversities. This fund will be managed by the district collector concerned, along with a committee of beneficiaries. A minimum amount will be deposited by the beneficiary towards this fund. The beneficiary would be issued an identity card with an electronic chip, which will help the government monitor the progress of the scheme.’