Garuda Scheme, Andhra Pradesh

What is the Garuda Scheme in Andhra Pradesh?

Garuda Scheme is a funeral assistance scheme run by the Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Welfare Corporation (APBWC), an autonomous corporation set up by the state government to deliver welfare and education support to economically weaker families of the Brahmin community. Garuda addresses one narrow, immediate need: the cost of performing the last rites when a family that has almost no cash reserve loses a member.

Under Garuda, the corporation pays a one-time Rs 10,000 to the surviving family. The payment is made per death, not per surviving relative, and is credited by bank transfer to the claimant. The scheme was relaunched by the state government in 2026 after having been discontinued for a period, so it is best treated as a live but recently revived scheme rather than a long-running entitlement.

Garuda sits alongside the corporation's other schemes. The APBWC website lists Bharati (support for overseas education), Vasishta (civil services coaching assistance), Sri Krishna-Sudama and Akshaya Brahmana Nidhi as its other programmes. Garuda is the only one of these that is triggered by a death rather than by an educational milestone.

What Garuda is designed to do

• Cover the immediate out-of-pocket cost of cremation, priest fees, transport and the associated rites.
• Reach the family within weeks of the death, which is why the claim window is short rather than open-ended.
• Target only the poorest households, which is why the income ceiling is set as low as Rs 75,000 a year.

Who is eligible for the Garuda Scheme?

You can claim if:

• You are a permanent resident of Andhra Pradesh.
• The deceased and you belong to the Brahmin community, evidenced by a caste certificate.
• Your annual family income does not exceed Rs 75,000, as certified by the tahsildar.
• You are a close relative of the deceased: spouse, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, sister or grandchild.
• You file within 45 days of the date of death.

You are not eligible if:

• The family income exceeds Rs 75,000 a year. This is a hard ceiling and the income certificate is checked, not self-declared.
• You are not a permanent resident of Andhra Pradesh, even if the deceased was.
• You are a distant relative, neighbour or family friend rather than one of the listed close relations.
• More than 45 days have passed since the death. Late claims are rejected as time-barred.
• Another relative has already been paid Rs 10,000 for the same death. Garuda cannot be claimed twice for one death.

What documents are required for the Garuda Scheme?

The income, caste and residence certificates are all Meeseva-issued documents. If you do not already hold current versions, apply for them at a Meeseva centre on the same day you collect the death certificate. The 45-day window is short and certificate issue itself takes several working days.

How to apply for the Garuda Scheme

1. Register the death with your gram panchayat or municipal office and collect the death certificate. Note the date of death, because the 45-day claim window runs from it.
2. Collect the supporting certificates — caste, income and residence; from a Meeseva centre if you do not already have valid ones.
3. Open the Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Welfare Corporation website at andhrabrahmin.ap.gov.in and look for the Garuda application under the schemes or online services section.
4. Fill the application form with the deceased person's details, your own details as claimant, your relationship to the deceased, and your bank account number and IFSC code.
5. Upload scanned copies of the death certificate, Aadhaar, caste certificate, income certificate, residence certificate and bank passbook.
6. Submit and save the reference number shown on screen. This number is the only way to follow the claim later.
7. If the online form is not open, submit a written application with the same enclosures to the corporation office at Gollapudi, Vijayawada, or send it by post, and keep the postal acknowledgement.

Call 0866-6650345 before you start to confirm which of the two routes is currently active. Because Garuda was relaunched in 2026, the online form may not have been live continuously.

How do you check a Garuda claim after applying?

Garuda does not have a public status-tracking dashboard of the kind larger state schemes carry. Track the claim in two ways:

• Quote your reference number when you call the corporation on 0866-6650300 or 0866-6650345.
• Watch your bank account. The Rs 10,000 arrives as a single credit from the corporation. There is no instalment structure.

Write your reference number on the photocopy set you keep at home. Families frequently lose the acknowledgement slip in the weeks after a bereavement, and without it the corporation has to search by the deceased person's name and date of death, which is slower.

Why do Garuda claims get rejected?

• Filed after 45 days. This is the most common reason, and the hardest to fix, because the deadline is tied to the date of death rather than to the date the certificate was issued.
• Income certificate above Rs 75,000. An older certificate showing a lower figure will not help if the current one is above the ceiling.
• Name mismatch between the death certificate, the caste certificate and Aadhaar. Telugu-to-English transliteration differences are a frequent cause.
• Bank account not in the applicant's name. Payment cannot be made into the deceased person's account, which is usually frozen in any case.
• Duplicate claim by a second relative for the same death.
• Incomplete relationship proof where the claimant's surname or address does not match the deceased person's records.

Most rejections other than the 45-day one are curable. Correct the document and resubmit through the same office, quoting the original reference number.

Where do you raise a Garuda grievance?

• Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Welfare Corporation: 0866-6650300 or 0866-6650345
• Office address: Gollapudi, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh
• Email: the corporation publishes an email address on andhrabrahmin.ap.gov.in for written queries

No fee is payable to apply for Garuda, and no agent or middleman can charge you to have a claim "sanctioned". If a payment is demanded, report it to the corporation directly. Amounts, the income ceiling and the claim window should be reconfirmed with the corporation at the time of applying, since Garuda has been revised once already.