All West Bengal Government Schemes

Krishak Bandhu is West Bengal's direct income-support scheme for farmers, paying up to ₹10,000 a year plus a ₹2 lakh death-benefit cover.

West Bengal's farmers deal with unpredictable input costs every season: seed, fertiliser, and labour prices don't wait for a good harvest. Krishak Bandhu was built around that reality: instead of a loan or a subsidy tied to a specific purchase, it puts cash directly into a farming family's hands twice a year, timed to the Kharif and Rabi sowing windows.

The amount scales with landholding: ₹10,000 a year for farmers with an acre or more, and a guaranteed floor of ₹4,000 a year for smaller and marginal holdings, so the scheme doesn't leave the smallest farmers out. A separate ₹2 lakh death-benefit cover also protects the family if the registered farmer passes away between 18 and 60.

Nearly a decade after launch, it remains one of the largest state-run farmer income schemes in the country, reaching both landowners and registered sharecroppers alike.

Swasthya Sathi was West Bengal's ₹5 lakh cashless health insurance scheme, now transitioning into the central Ayushman Bharat programme.

For years, Swasthya Sathi was the reason a hospital bill didn't mean selling land or borrowing at high interest for millions of West Bengal families, cashless treatment up to ₹5 lakh a year, no premium, no paperwork at the counter.

2026 changed that picture significantly. West Bengal adopted the central Ayushman Bharat scheme in July, and existing Swasthya Sathi households are being migrated across, with the notable upgrade that coverage now works at hospitals across India, not just within the state. A new state top-up, Mukhyamantri Swasthya Bima Yojana, catches anyone who doesn't qualify under the central scheme's rules.

If you're holding an old Swasthya Sathi card, it's worth actively checking your new status rather than assuming the transition happened automatically for your household.

Aikyashree is West Bengal's umbrella minority scholarship system, covering five separate programmes from Class 1 through PhD.

Rather than a single scholarship, Aikyashree is really five different support programmes bundled under one portal: Pre-Matric, Post-Matric, Merit-cum-Means, the Talent Support Programme, and the Swami Vivekananda Merit-cum-Means Scholarship (SVMCM), each targeting a different stage of a minority-community student's education.

That range is deliberate: a student can move from a Class 5 Pre-Matric award through to a postgraduate SVMCM scholarship without ever having to switch to a different scheme, as long as they keep re-registering each year and their institution completes verification on time.

Coverage spans Muslim, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, and Parsi students across West Bengal, run by the state's Minorities' Development and Finance Corporation (WBMDFC).

Khadya Sathi is West Bengal's fully digital ration card scheme, covering around 90% of the state's population.

Most food-security schemes still hand out a plastic or laminated ration card. West Bengal did something different with Khadya Sathi, it went fully digital, meaning your entitlement lives on a phone screen or a plain printout rather than a physical card that can be lost or damaged.

The scheme reaches an unusually wide slice of the population, close to 90% of residents, by combining central NFSA categories (AAY, PHH) with two state-created categories, RKSY-I and RKSY-II, specifically built to cover families the central scheme's rules leave out.

Collection at the ration shop uses Aadhaar-based biometric verification, so there's genuinely nothing physical to carry; just your registered mobile number or Aadhaar to pull up your record.

Lakshmir Bhandar has been replaced by Annapurna Bhandar, now paying ₹3,000 a month to eligible women aged 25-60.

For years, Lakshmir Bhandar was the reason a monthly bank credit landed for millions of West Bengal women (₹1,500 for General category households, ₹1,700 for SC/ST), with genuinely no strings attached beyond eligibility.

That scheme has now been succeeded by Annapurna Bhandar, introduced after West Bengal's May 2026 change of government, and confirmed at a significantly higher ₹3,000 a month for eligible women aged 25 to 60. Existing beneficiaries are being migrated across, though it's worth actively confirming your status rather than assuming the switch happened automatically.

The core idea hasn't changed (direct monthly support to women heads of household), but the amount, the age band, and the portal behind it all have.

Bangla Shasya Bima is West Bengal's free crop insurance scheme: no premium cost to the farmer, ever.

Crop insurance usually comes with a premium bill attached, which is exactly the kind of expense a farmer already worried about a bad season doesn't want. Bangla Shasya Bima removes that friction entirely, the West Bengal government pays the full premium, so enrolling costs the farmer nothing at any point.

What makes claims work differently here is the area-based assessment model: rather than inspecting each individual field, an entire Mouza or Panchayat area gets declared "affected" once roughly 50% of its farmers report losses, and every enrolled farmer in that area becomes eligible for a per-hectare payout.

Because registration happens separately for Kharif and Rabi each year, it's easy to accidentally skip a season; it is worth re-enrolling every cycle since there's no cost either way.

Rupashree Prakalpa pays a one-time ₹25,000 marriage grant to adult daughters from low-income West Bengal families.

Marriage expenses have historically pushed lower-income West Bengal families toward debt, and in the worst cases, toward marrying daughters off before they turned 18 just to avoid costs growing further. Rupashree Prakalpa targets that specific pressure point directly.

The scheme pays a one-time ₹25,000 grant straight into the bride's own bank account, not a parent's, provided she's marrying for the first time at 18 or older, from a family earning ₹1.5 lakh a year or less. Timing is strict: applications have to go in at least 30 days before the wedding, since there's no retroactive route once the marriage has already happened.

It's designed to work alongside Kanyashree Prakalpa as part of the state's broader push against underage marriage.

Jai Bangla is West Bengal's unified pension umbrella, covering nearly a dozen sub-schemes under one application system.

Before 2020, West Bengal ran close to a dozen separate pension schemes for seniors, widows, SC/ST residents, and specific occupations, each with its own form, its own office, its own rules. Jai Bangla folded all of them into a single application system and a single, standardised payment.

Whichever sub-scheme applies: Old Age Pension, SC Old-Age Pension, ST Old-Age Pension, or one of the occupation-based pensions, beneficiaries use the same Form P and the same portal to apply and check status, rather than needing to figure out which department handles which scheme.

Payment amounts have been under revision through 2026's state budget process, so it's worth checking your current disbursement against the latest rate rather than an older figure.

Sabooj Sathi provides free bicycles to Class 9-12 students across West Bengal, over a crore distributed since 2015.

In parts of rural West Bengal, the distance to secondary school was itself enough to push students, especially girls, out of regular attendance. Sabooj Sathi's answer was refreshingly direct: give every eligible student a free bicycle, no repayment, no fee.

Coverage runs Class 9 through 12, and rather than an individual application, your own school registers you as part of its enrolment process, bicycles then reach schools in phases as state procurement completes each round.

With well over a crore bicycles distributed since 2015, it's one of the largest single-item welfare distributions run by any Indian state, and it picked up a UN World Summit on the Information Society award along the way.

Kanyashree Prakalpa is West Bengal's UN-recognised scholarship scheme supporting girls from Class 8 through postgraduate study.

Few Indian state schemes have drawn as much international attention as Kanyashree, a UN Public Service Award among its recognitions, for a fairly simple mechanic: pay girls to stay unmarried and in school, in stages, as they grow up.

K1 is a small annual scholarship through Class 8-12, K2 is a ₹25,000 grant at 18 if she's still unmarried and continuing education, and K3 extends support into postgraduate study for those who received K2. Each stage requires a signed declaration of marital status, since staying unmarried is the entire structural point of the design.

It's frequently credited with measurable improvements in girls' school retention across the districts where uptake has been strongest.

Manabik Pension is West Bengal's monthly disability pension, currently ₹1,000 with a budget-driven revision toward ₹1,500 underway.

Disability pensions have historically lagged behind other social security payments in amount, and Manabik has been part of that same pattern, a ₹1,000 monthly baseline that's currently in the middle of a budget-driven revision toward ₹1,500, with both figures still appearing across different official documents during the transition.

Eligibility centres on holding a valid disability certificate at the required threshold, alongside residency and income conditions, with applications processed through Duare Sarkar camps or local BDO/SDO offices rather than a purely online system.

It sits under the broader Jai Bangla pension umbrella alongside old-age and widow pensions, using the same underlying application infrastructure.

Samabyathi Prakalpa provides a one-time ₹2,000 funeral-expense grant for deceased members of poor West Bengal families.

Funeral costs are a genuinely awkward welfare gap, not the kind of expense anyone plans for, and one that hits hardest exactly when a family has the least capacity to absorb it. Samabyathi Prakalpa exists specifically for that moment: a one-time ₹2,000 payment to help cover funeral expenses for deceased members of poor families.

It's a small scheme by benefit size compared to Krishak Bandhu or Lakshmir Bhandar, but it fills a specific, practical gap that larger income-support schemes were never designed to cover.

Applications are typically handled through local Panchayat or municipal offices at the time of need, rather than requiring advance registration.

Shikshashree is West Bengal's annual stipend for SC/ST students in Class 5 through 8, bridging the gap before Kanyashree.

Between Kanyashree's start at Class 8 and the various post-matric scholarships, there's a gap for younger SC/ST students still in Class 5 through 8: Shikshashree exists to fill exactly that window with an annual stipend.

The amount is modest by design, intended to offset basic schooling costs (books, uniforms, incidental expenses) rather than function as a major income transfer, but it plays a specific role in keeping younger SC/ST students enrolled during a stage where dropout risk is real.

It works alongside the broader SC/ST scholarship ecosystem, including Oasis for students who progress further into secondary and higher education.

Geetanjali Housing Scheme (Amar Thikana) gives rural EWS families up to ₹75,000 to build a permanent home.

Also referenced in some official documents as "Amar Thikana," this scheme targets a specific and often-overlooked group: rural families living in kutcha (non-permanent) housing who need help building a proper concrete home, separate from the larger Banglar Bari programme.

Assistance runs around ₹70,000 for plains areas and ₹75,000 for hill, difficult, and coastal areas, funded through the Panchayat and Rural Development Department and aimed at Economically Weaker Section households.

Like most West Bengal housing assistance schemes, funds are disbursed directly to the beneficiary's bank account rather than as a lump sum handed over at approval.

OASIS is West Bengal's dedicated SC/ST/OBC scholarship portal, covering Pre-Matric through postgraduate study.

OASIS serves a similar purpose to Aikyashree, but for a different set of students: SC, ST, and OBC learners from Pre-Matric through postgraduate study, run through West Bengal's dedicated SC/ST/OBC scholarship portal.

Income ceilings and benefit amounts differ noticeably by both category and education level, and ST applicants specifically need to complete a One-Time Registration (OTR) on the national scholarship portal before their state application can be processed, a step that's easy to miss and causes a disproportionate share of delayed applications.

Renewal each academic year is required to keep benefits continuous, rather than a single lifetime registration.

Banglar Bari Prakalpa gives rural families ₹1.2-1.3 lakh to build a permanent home, paid in instalments.

Housing is one of the largest single expenses a low-income rural family will ever face, and Banglar Bari is West Bengal's primary answer for families still living without a permanent structure, a construction grant of ₹1.2 lakh in plains areas and ₹1.3 lakh in hilly regions, paid in instalments directly to the beneficiary's account.

The programme has moved through several phases since its 2024 launch, with beneficiaries drawn from a provisional list built on Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) data, meaning eligibility often depends on appearing correctly on that underlying survey list, not just meeting the income criteria on paper.

Core requirements are straightforward: West Bengal residency, no existing pucca house, and ownership of the land the house will be built on.

Utkarsh Bangla offers free vocational skill training and job placement support for West Bengal youth.

Not every West Bengal welfare scheme is a direct payment: Utkarsh Bangla is about building earning capacity instead, offering free vocational and skill-development training aimed at improving employment prospects for the state's youth.

Run under the state's skill development framework, it covers a range of trade and vocational courses rather than a single fixed curriculum, with the goal of connecting completed training to actual job placement support rather than leaving graduates to find work independently.

It complements income-based youth schemes like Karma Sathi Prakalpa, giving young job-seekers both a skills pathway and, separately, financial routes into self-employment.