Dhanalakshmi is a government scheme launched in 2008, to provide financial assistance for the marriage of girl children from economically weaker sections. The scheme is intended to improve the status and well-being of the girl child by providing financial assistance for her marriage and promoting gender equality.
The main features of the scheme include:
- Eligibility: The scheme is open to girl children from economically weaker sections, who are below the age of 18 years at the time of marriage.
- Financial Assistance: The scheme provides financial assistance of Rs.50,000 to the girl child's family for her marriage.
- Beneficiary Identification: Beneficiaries are identified through a process of community mobilization and survey by Anganwadi workers and the ICDS scheme.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: The scheme is monitored and evaluated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the state governments.
The scheme aimed to provide financial assistance to the girl child's family for her marriage, which would help reduce the burden of marriage expenses on the family and would also help in changing the attitude of the society towards the girl child. The scheme, however, has been discontinued and its functionality has been integrated with other related schemes.
