Context: Recently, the Prime Minister of India launched ‘SUBHADRA’, the flagship Scheme of the Government of Odisha, in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 

• It is named after Goddess Subhadra, the younger sibling of Lord Jagannath, the presiding deity of Odisha.

• It supports financial empowerment through direct bank transfers, linked with RBI’s digital currency pilot project.

Key provisions of Subhadra Yojana

• Under the scheme, all eligible beneficiaries in the age group of 21-60 years will get Rs 50,000 over a period of 5 years between 2024-25 to 2028-29.

• An amount of Rs 10,000 per year in two equal instalments will be deposited directly into the Aadhaar-enabled and DBT-enabled bank account of the beneficiary.

• The transfer will be made in two instalments of Rs 5,000 each on Rakhi Purnima (Raksha Bandhan, which usually falls in August) and International Women's Day (March 8).

• The top 100 beneficiaries with the highest number of digital transactions in each gram panchayat and urban local body area will get an additional incentive of Rs 500.

• Eligibility: Women from financially well-off families, government employees and income tax payers will not be eligible for this scheme.

• Women receiving assistance of Rs 1,500 per month or more (or Rs 18,000 per year or more) under any other government scheme are also excluded from this scheme.

• The government has made e-KYC mandatory for this scheme. Beneficiaries will also be issued Subhadra debit cards.

• This single woman-centric scheme is expected to cover over 1 crore women.

• There is no last date to register; the process will continue until all eligible beneficiaries have been registered.