[punjab.gov.in/aashirwad-scheme] Shagun (Aashirwad) Scheme in Punjab (Registration Process 2020)
For assisting the poor families of Punjab financially, the state government is working on perfecting the system called Shagun Scheme. Under the said scheme, the state government will provide monetary assistance to the poor and backward families during the marriage of the girls. With this program, the authority wants to improve the sex ration in the state as well as put a stopper on female infanticide and child marriage.
| Name | Shagun Scheme (Aashirwad) |
| Launched Date | 1997 |
| Launched By | Prakash Singh Badal |
| Reformed by | CM Captain Amarinder Singh |
| Supervised by | Department of Women and Child Development |
| Authorized website | http://punjab.gov.in/aashirwad-scheme |
| Target Audience | Women of Punjab belonging to SC or Christian Family |
| Grant Amount | Rs. 15,000 |
Key features of the scheme Shagun (Aashirwad) Scheme
- Providing financial assistance – Under the scheme, the state government of Punjab will provide the selected families with a grant of Rs. 15,000 for meeting the expenses of wedding of the girl.
- Reducing child marriage – If the families are getting the financial aid they will no longer see the female child as a burden. It will assist in reducing the percentage of child marriages in the state.
- Increasing the number of girls – Due to the taboo prevalent in the society, many people opt to kill the female fetus. It takes a direct toll on the sex ration of the state. To increase the number of female individuals, the state has designed this program.
Eligibility criteria of the scheme
- Residents of the state – The development and the implementation of the Shagun Scheme have been done for Punjab. Only those female candidates who were born and reside in Punjab will be able to take part in the scheme.
- For poor and backward families – All the candidates who desire to receive the monetary assistance must belong to the BPL category. The annual income of the family must not exceed the Rs. 20,000 in the villages and Rs. 27,000 in the city areas.
- Must belong to SC or minority groups – The applicant must belong to the SC category. If they belong to any minority community like Christians or other backward communities.
- Adoption of two child rules – The High Court in Punjab and Haryana has introduced many rules for the people who work in the Bar Association. These candidates will have to follow any two norms of the draft.
Documents required for the scheme
- For verification of the application of the candidate, the application form must be supported with some legal documents. These will assist the verification of identification, residence and income related data.
- To start with, the candidate needs to attach the proof of residence and identification. It can be done with the Aadhar Card.
- As it is mainly for the SC candidates, attaching the cast certificate is a must.
- Along with this, the age proof and the family income certificate must be provided.
- The BPL card is also mandatory.
- As the money will be directly transferred into the account of the candidate, providing the bank account details is necessary.
- All the above mentioned documents must be attested by a gazette officer or the head of the Panchayat. The inclusion of a photograph of the candidate and a self-declaration is necessary.
How to get the application form?
Getting the application form is easy. Though both online and offline submission of the application is possible, all interested candidates must log on to the official website to acquire the digitized application form. It can also be done by clicking on the link http://punjab.gov.in/documents/10191/917057/Shagun+Services.pdf/d5d042e8-0ae5-4788-a2c5-47460ae4ec42.
Registration Process For Shagun Scheme (Aashirwad) Punjab
Online application procedure:
- Every candidate who wished to acquire the benefits of the scheme will have to log on to the http://punjab.gov.in/aashirwad-scheme This must be followed by clicking on the “Apply Online Shagun Scheme.”
- In case the candidate has already applied under the scheme, they can directly reach the main page by providing the ID and password on the http://punjab.gov.in/eform/login.xhtml In case the candidate is applying for the first time, she will have to click on the link marked as “New User.”
- As soon as the link is clicked, the parson will get access to the application form. All the marked fields must be filled with appropriate personal details of the bride. Then the form must be registered.
- As soon as the registration has been completed, the page will generate a specific password and ID for that application. It will assist the candidate in proceeding further.
- When the ID and the password are entered, the main page will appear. It is the main login page and for all first timers, it is mandatory to update the profile. It can be done by clicking the right link.
- Once this has been done, it is time to click on the link that has been marked as “Fresh Application.” It will be available in the left menu area. All services, that the authority provides are listed and one needs to click on the preferred link.
- The “Fresh Application” page will also give you access to the Online Form application. When the candidate reaches this area, she will have to click on the link that is marked as “Click here to fill the application form online or Alternative 2”
- Once the application form has been duly filled, the candidate needs to click on the link that is marked as “Submit.” If the candidate wished to take a final look at the data entered, she needs to click on the link “View Saved Application.”
- If every data is in order, the candidate will have to start the attachment of the required documents by clicking on the button marked as “Upload Supporting Documents.”
- Once all scanned copies of the required documents and the photograph of the candidate has been uploaded, the final “Submit” button must be clicked on.
Offline application procedure:
- If one is not accustomed to the online application procedure, then the offline procedure will come in assistance. In this case too, the candidate will have to click on the http://punjab.gov.in/aashirwad-scheme and then start the procedure by clicking on “Apply Online Shagun Scheme”
- Either the “New User” button needs to be clicked in case the candidate is applying for the first time. If the application has been completed earlier, the unique ID and the password will be enough.
- The next step involves furnishing the details of the person like the birth date, name, residential details etc.
- Once this part has been handled, the site will generate an ID code and password. The candidate needs to use these to get further access.
- After logging in the main page and then updating the profile, the candidate will have to click on the link “Fresh Application.” It is present on the left menu area.
- All services, that the authority provides are listed and one needs to click on the preferred link for getting the required information.
- After this, the candidate will have to click on the link that is marked as “Alternative 1.” It is the link that will assist in the offline registration of the application. When this has been done, the candidate will be able to download the e-application form.
- Filling the e-form has to be done online but the presence of the net connectivity is not mandatory for this part of the registration.
- After the completion of the e-form filling, the candidate again needs to go to the Fresh Application page and click on the Alternative 1 link. Then the link marked as “Click here to upload the filled form” must be activated.
- It must be followed by browsing the e-form for rechecking the details. To complete the process, the candidate needs to click on the button marked as “Add.”
As per the information provided by the Punjab government, it is trying to bring as many beneficiaries under the scheme as possible. For meeting the financial requirements of the scheme, the state government has allocated around Rs. 98 crores in the 2015 – 2016 annual state budget.
Update (27/04/2018)
Punjab releases over Rs 112 cr Under “Aashirwad Scheme”
The state government of Punjab state has announced to release an overall fund of Rs 112.78 crores under the Aashirwad Scheme. The details of the funds allocated under this scheme can be viewed in the table below.
| Total Funds | Govt. Cont. (SC/ST.BC- Girls) | Compensation
|
Funds Released | |||||||
| Dec-2016-June 2017 | July-2017 – December 2017 | Beneficiaries | Amritsar | Ludhiana | Gur. | |||||
| Amt | No. | Amt | No. | Amt. | No. | |||||
| Rs 112.78 cr | Rs 21,000 | Rs 15,000 | Rs 21,000 | 65,377 | Rs 11.44 cr | 6676 girls | Rs. 9.48 cr | 5526 girls | Rs 8.32 cr | 4748 girls |
The state government has announced to offer with full benefit to the girls belonging to SC/ST/BC class of the society under the scheme.