Bhamashah Yojna

Bhamashah Yojna in Rajasthan: Chief Minister Smt. Vasundhara Raje launched the biggest programme of the country to empower women ‘Bhamashah Scheme’ from Udaipur on Friday the 15th August. The scheme will start a new era of making women self-reliant. This dream project of Chief Minister Smt. Raje is a gift of ‘financial freedom’ to 1.5 crore women of the state. It will give them freedom from the economic dependence on their family. The Chief Minister after launching the scheme distributed ‘Bhamashah Card’ to the beneficiary women and the first card was handed over to Shanta Bai, a resident of Udaipur. Smt. Raje also inaugurated the first Bhamashah Enrolment Camp organised in Kota through video conferencing.

Smt. Raje said though women are living in independent India but they still did not get freedom from the social neglegence. She said being a woman Chief Minsiter she had taken decision to provide 50% reservation to women in Panchayati Raj and Local Body elections during her last regime. She was the first to take such decision in the country though the matter went to the court during the previous government. The Chief Minister said to make my sisters ‘power women’ the concept of the Bhamashah Scheme had been given shape but the scheme was closed by the successive government. She said Bhamashah Scheme was announced on 28th February 2008 during her last regime. 45.78 lakh women were enroled, 29.07 lakh bank accounts were opened, 8000 cards had been issued in the year 2008. After opening the accouns the state government had deposited Rs. 160 crore in the banks, but this scheme had been closed by the successive government in the state while the UPA goernment in centre had started the Aadhar Card Scheme in September 2010 copying our scheme. The Aadhar scheme was not a successful one and Aadhar card has remained merely an identity card having no thought of financial inclusion and not having any big utilization for the people.