The Telangana government on Thursday issued the order extending to backward classes the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme of Rs. 51,000 assistance to given to unmarried girls belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
The order said a one-time financial assistance of Rs. 51,000 at the time of marriage shall be granted to every girl of socially and educationally backward classes and economically backward classes with effect from April 1.
Though the scheme was initially implemented for SCs and STs, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao subsequently announced that even the BCs would be covered under it. The Backward Classes Welfare Minister Jogu Ramanna said in a release that 58,000 beneficiaries would be identified this year on first-come first-served basis. The eligibility criteria laid down by the government would be strictly followed.