Orunudoi scheme as game changer in Assam

Out of the slew of beneficiary schemes the sitting government announced ahead of the Assam Assembly elections, the Orunudoi scheme, with women as its primary target group, is perhaps its most popular.

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In December 2020, when the scheme was launched, Assam Chief Minister described it as the “largest DBT scheme in the history of Assam which will empower women and serve the needy”.

Through Orunodoi — announced in the 2020-21 Budget — a monthly assistance of Rs 830 is transferred to women members of marginalised families of Assam.

On account of being a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, the money is credited directly to the bank account of the woman head of a family because they are “primary caretakers of the household”.

The applicant, a woman, has to be a permanent resident of Assam, whose composite household income should be less than Rs 2 lakh per annum.

Families without any women members, MPs, MLAs (former and current), members of Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies, government officials and employees of cooperative societies are excluded from the scheme.

Families owning four-wheelers, mechanised boats, tractors or refrigerators, ACs and washing machines, or more than 15 bighas of agricultural land, are not eligible either.