RANCHI: 56.62 lakh women received Rs 2500 each under the 'Mukhyamantri Mainiya Samman Yojana' through direct benefit transfer (DBT) during a programme organised in Ranchi on Monday. Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren transferred Rs 11,415.44 crore during the event.

The money was expected to be transferred to the beneficiaries' accounts on December 11, which was extended to December 22-23, and then further extended to December 28. The money transfer was delayed by a few more weeks due to the cancellation of all government programmes till January 1 following the demise of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Addressing a gathering of women coming from all 24 districts of Jharkhand, Soren said that the women will now be able to move forward on their own to make their dreams come true.

“Our government helps the poor in many ways…. it finds ways to provide social security, but independently you were not able to dream for your family, children, farming and employment. Today, we have given you such a system that you will not only be able to make your dreams come true, giving the commands in your hands how to achieve them,” said Soren.

There is no need to survive on government food grains, you can now buy nutritious food, meat and fish; women suffering from anaemia may also buy nutritious food for themselves, he added.

“You can buy books, pens and pencils for your children, buy clothes for yourself at every festival…. you can buy a gas cylinder also with this money,” said the Chief Minister, adding, “We have come to know that there are poor people who have to sell food grains to raise funds in case of emergencies, this money will also avert such situation.”

There have also been complaints that people sell the bicycles given to children to fulfil their needs, but that situation will not arise now, he said.

Soren further added that the self-help group (SHG) women who had been contributing Rs 10-20 every month, will now be able to make their future brighter by contributing Rs 500-1000 every month.

The Chief Minister said that in future, no government can return to power by ignoring women in this country. The women attending the programme also thanked Hemant Soren for ‘Mahila Samman’ saying that they will spend this money to meet their day-to-day requirements.

“Earlier, we were dependent on their husband and father-in-law, but now will be able to fulfil our needs on our own by spending Rs 2500, received in our bank accounts, judiciously by providing better education and health facilities for our children and family members,” said another woman.

Notably, ‘Mukhyamantri Mainiya Samman Yojana,’ the flagship programme of Hemant Soren Government, launched in August 2024, is an ambitious scheme under which all women aged between 21 to 50 years in the state receive Rs 1000 every month through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

But, looking at its popularity before the Assembly polls, the financial assistance was increased to Rs 2500 from Rs 1000.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren, riding high on his better half Kalpana Soren’s popularity and welfare schemes like Mukhyamantri Mainiya Samman Yojana, surprised everyone by registering a landslide victory over BJP-led NDA in Jharkhand on Saturday.

According to the poll experts, Mainiya Samman Yojana launched ahead of the polls by the Hemant Soren government, was one of the major actors for Soren retaining power with an increased mandate.