Guwahati, Sept 18: The welfare measures taken by the Assam government has enabled 80 lakh families in the state to rise out of poverty, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said during the launch of Orunodoi 3.0 here on Thursday.
Notably, Orunodoi 3.0 is the latest expansion of the flagship scheme, which now shall extend financial aid to 37,20,000 beneficiaries, making it the largest ever state-run direct benefit transfer (DBT initiative in Assam.
“The direct assistance through the Orunodoi scheme, the Ayushman card and the ration card initiative has helped 80 lakh families in Assam to rise out of poverty,” the chief minister said.
“In Orunodoi 3.0, we will be prioritising destitute women, divyangs, widows, transgenders and other vulnerable sections to provide them with financial security. Families with income below Rs 2 lakh (per year) are eligible to apply and the state government will be spending Rs 467 crore per month on this scheme,” he said.
On the other hand, the chief minister, in a bid to extend the National Food Security Act (NFSA) benefits, kick-started the distribution process of ration cards to 19.92 lakh beneficiaries, who will be eligible to avail free foodgrain every month.
In this scheme, the government will be spending over Rs 440 crore per month. The NFSA cards will also entail free treatment under Ayushman Bharat.
“Together with NFSA, Orunodoi 3.0 will form a comprehensive social security net which will cover their nutritional, financial, medical and ancillary needs,” he said.
He said after the unprecedented success of Orunodoi 1.0 and 2.0, which touched the lives of around 24.60 lakh people, with Orunodoi 3.0, more than 12 lakh beneficiaries have been brought under the ambit of the DBT scheme.
The state government also plans to integrate the Orunodoi scheme with the ration card system, issuing new ration cards to 19,92,167 families.
Currently, 2,31,97,608 beneficiaries avail benefits under the National Food Security Act, and the number is expected to rise to around 2.60 crore after the new ration cards are distributed.
