Jharkhand CM to launch widow remarriage promotion scheme today

RANCHI: Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren will formally launch the State Widow Remarriage Promotion Scheme today.

Under the scheme, an amount of Rs 2 lakh will be given to a widow who remarries.

Giving information about the scheme, the Secretary of Women and Children and Social Welfare Department, Manoj Kumar, said, "This scheme is being introduced so that widows can be brought into the mainstream and they can live with dignity...Any widow who remarries can apply for this; Within one year of her marriage...Rs 2 lakhs will be given to her..."

"The widows in our society are not leading a dignified life. Their productivity is down. Their contribution to society and the nation is also not achieved. To fetch their productivity for the construction and restructuring of society and nation, it is required that they are brought to the manifold of the society," Manoj Kumar added.

This step comes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in the country.

Earlier, the Jharkhand government presented a budget of Rs 1.28 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-25. This was the first budget of the newly formed Champai Soren government.

The budgetary estimates for next year were up 10 per cent from the previous budget estimates of 2023-24 and 6.5 per cent up against the revised estimates.

The JMM-led coalition government had presented a budget of Rs 1.16 lakh crore for the current financial year 2023-24. The budgeted figures were later upwardly revised to Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 2.02 per cent, against the target of limiting it to 3.0 per cent of GSDP in the financial year 2024-25.