Marriage Assistance Schemes

Many state governments in India have introduced marriage assistance schemes that provide financial assistance for the marriage of poor girls, orphans or widows. The marriage assistance schemes are social welfare schemes that help the marriage of poor girls and encourage widow remarriage.

Tamil Nadu Marriage Assistance Schemes

The Tamil Nadu (TN) government implements five marriage assistance schemes that provide financial assistance for the marriage of poor and orphan girls, widow remarriage, and inter-caste marriages. The five schemes are as follows:

Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Ninaivu Marriage Assistance Scheme

This scheme helps financially poor parents get their daughters married and promotes the educational status of poor girls.

Benefits – 

• Cheque of Rs.25,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have completed 10th standard.
• Cheque of Rs.50,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have passed degree or diploma at the time of marriage.

Eligibility – 

• The income of the girl’s parents should not exceed Rs.72,000 per annum.
• The bride must be above 18 years, and the bridegroom should have completed 21 years.
• Only one girl child from a family is eligible to get the benefits.
• The application for this scheme should be received by the respective authority 40 days before the wedding or at least one day before the marriage if there are any unavoidable circumstances.

Application Process – The eligible girls’ parents should submit the application to the district social welfare officer or extension officers (SW) to obtain the scheme’s benefits.

Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme

The TN government implements this scheme to encourage remarriage of the destitute widows and ensure their rehabilitation in society.

Benefits – 

• Cheque of Rs.15,000, a National Savings Certificate (NSC) bond of Rs.10,000, and a gold coin of 8 grams for women aged between 20-40 years. 
• Cheque of Rs.30,000, NSC bond of Rs.20,000, and gold coin of 8 grams for a degree/diploma passed women.

Eligibility – 

• The bride must be between 20-40 years at the time of the wedding.
• The eligible widows should apply to this scheme within six months from the marriage date.

Application Process – The eligible widows should submit the application to the district social welfare officer or extension officers (SW) to obtain the scheme’s benefits.

E.V.R. Maniyammaiyar Ninaivu Widow Daughter’s Marriage Assistance Scheme

This scheme helps poor widowed mothers by providing financial assistance for their daughter’s marriage and promoting their daughter’s education.

Benefits – 

• Cheque of Rs.25,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have completed 10th standard.
• Cheque of Rs.50,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have passed degree or diploma at the time of marriage. 

Eligibility – 

• The income of the girl child’s parents should not exceed Rs.72,000 per annum.
• The bride must be above 18 years, and the bridegroom should have completed 21 years.
• Only one girl daughter of the poor widow is eligible to get the benefits.
• The application for this scheme should be received by the respective authority 40 days before the wedding or at least one day before the marriage if there are any unavoidable circumstances.

Application Process – The widowed mothers should submit the application to the district social welfare officer or extension officers (SW) to obtain the scheme’s benefits.

Annai Theresa Ninaivu Orphan Girls Marriage Assistance Scheme

The TN government implements this scheme to financially help the orphan girls at the time of their marriage.

Benefits – 

• Cheque of Rs.25,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have completed 10th standard.
• Cheque of Rs.50,000 and gold coin of 8 grams for girls who have passed degree or diploma at the time of marriage. 

Eligibility –

• The bride must be above 18 years, and the bridegroom should have completed 21 years.
• The application for this scheme should be received by the respective authority 40 days before the wedding or at least one day before the marriage if there are any unavoidable circumstances.

Application Process – The orphan girls should submit the application to the district social welfare officer or extension officers (SW) to obtain the scheme’s benefits.

Dr.Muthulakshmi Reddy Ninaivu Intercaste Marriage Assistance Scheme

The TN government implements this scheme to abolish untouchability in the community based on caste discrimination.

Benefits –

• Cheque of Rs.15,000, NSC bond of Rs.10,000, and 8 gram gold coin.
• Cheque of Rs.30,000, NSC bond of Rs. 20,000, and 8 gram gold coin for degree and diploma passed women.

Eligibility – 

• The bride must be above 18 years, and the bridegroom should have completed 21 years.
• The married couple should apply within two years from the date of marriage.

Application Process – The eligible girls’ parents should submit the application to the district social welfare officer or extension officers (SW) to obtain the scheme’s benefits.

Madhya Pradesh Marriage Assistance Schemes

The Madhya Pradesh (MP) government has launched two marriage assistance schemes, which are as follows:

Chief Minister Kalyani Marriage Assistance Scheme

This scheme provides benefits to the widows (Kalyani) in the state to encourage widow remarriages.

Benefits – Rs.2 lakh is provided for widow marriage which will be deposited in the widow’s bank account.

Eligibility –

• The widow must be at least 18 years or more.
• The widow should not be an income taxpayer.
• The widow should not be a government employee or officer.

Application Process – The applicant should submit the application for this scheme to the collector, joint director or deputy director of the district or apply online through the nearest Public Service Centre.

CM’s Disabled Marriage Incentive Scheme

This scheme provides financial assistance for the marriage of the poor, disabled bride or grooms in the state.

Benefits – Rs.2 lakh if the bride or groom are disabled and Rs.1 lakh when both are disabled. 

Eligibility –

• The disabled person must be a native of Madhya Pradesh 
• The bride should be above 18 years, and the groom should be above 21 years. 
• The head of the disabled person’s family should not be an income taxpayer. 
• The bride or groom should have more than 40% disability.

Application Process – The applicant should submit the application for this scheme to the collector, joint director or deputy director of the district or apply online through the nearest Public Service Centre.

Jammu and Kashmir State Marriage Assistance Scheme

This scheme was launched by the Jammu and Kashmir government to provide assistance to poor girls of marriageable age who belong to either AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) or PHH (Priority Households) ration cardholder families.

State Marriage Assistance Schemes for Poor Girls

Benefits – One-time financial assistance of Rs.50,000 before the girl’s marriage.

Eligibility – 

• The girl should be of marriageable age.
• The girl should be at least 8th pass or equivalent.
• The girl should not have availed the financial benefit under any other centrally sponsored scheme.
• The girl should apply for this scheme at least one month before the date of marriage.

Application Process – The eligible girl should apply for this scheme with the concerned district social welfare officer.

The marriage assistance schemes launched by different states help poor families and widows to get their children married. Thus, these schemes support citizens during the marriage of their children.