Matsyakara Sevalo Scheme, Andhra Pradesh

What is the Matsyakara Sevalo Scheme?

Matsyakara Sevalo Scheme is the livelihood support scheme of the Department of Fisheries, Government of Andhra Pradesh for fishing families during the annual marine fishing ban. The ban is a conservation measure, fishing is suspended for roughly two months each year so that fish stocks can breed, and it removes the income of coastal households for that entire period. Matsyakara Sevalo replaces part of that lost income.

The scheme began in 2019 under the name YSR Matsyakara Bharosa and was renamed and revised under the present state government. Older government orders, bank credit messages and news reports still carry the earlier name, so a fisherman searching for "Matsyakara Bharosa" and one searching for "Matsyakara Sevalo" are looking at the same lineage of benefit.

What the scheme provides

• Rs 20,000 a year as financial assistance during the fishing ban period.
• A diesel subsidy of Rs 9 per litre for registered fishing boats.
• Ex-gratia of up to Rs 10 lakh to the family in case of accidental death during fishing operations.

The Rs 20,000 is paid by direct benefit transfer into the fisherman's Aadhaar-seeded bank account. The diesel subsidy works differently. It attaches to the registered craft and its recorded fuel offtake rather than to a person, which is why a fisherman who works on someone else's boat receives the Rs 20,000 but not the fuel benefit.

Who is eligible for Matsyakara Sevalo?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Andhra Pradesh.
• You are between 21 and 60 years of age.
• You are a registered marine, traditional or non-motorised fisherman on the Department of Fisheries rolls.
• You hold valid identification and an active, Aadhaar-seeded bank account.

You are not eligible if:

• You are a government or private employee drawing a regular salary, or a pensioner.
• You already receive another welfare pension; old age, disability or medical. The state does not stack these with the ban-period relief.
• Your main occupation is not fishing. Auto drivers, tailors and other non-fishing occupations are specifically excluded even where the family has a fishing background.
• You are below 21 or above 60.
• You are not on the department's fisherman register. Registration is the gate, and it cannot be substituted with a village certificate.

Households are de-duplicated on Aadhaar. Where two members of the same family apply for the ban-period relief, the second claim is normally held for verification rather than paid alongside the first.

What documents are required for Matsyakara Sevalo?

How to apply for Matsyakara Sevalo

1. Confirm your fisherman registration with the Department of Fisheries. If you are not on the register, or your registration has lapsed, get it renewed before doing anything else; every later step depends on it.
2. Visit your village secretariat or ward secretariat, or the district Fisheries office, and ask for the Matsyakara Sevalo application. The scheme is applied for offline; there is no self-service online application form.
3. Fill the form with your fisherman registration number, Aadhaar number, age, bank account number and IFSC code, and your craft details if you own a boat.
4. Attach the documents — registration certificate, Aadhaar, bank passbook, residence proof and age proof, and hand the set to the welfare or village agriculture assistant at the secretariat.
5. Collect the acknowledgement and note the application number.
6. Wait for the social audit display. Andhra Pradesh publishes provisional beneficiary lists at the secretariat for objections before payment is released. Check that your name appears on the list.
7. Track the payment on the beneficiary management portal at bm-sgsw.ap.gov.in using your Aadhaar number.

Apply well before the ban period begins. The relief is tied to the ban cycle, which typically runs from mid-April to mid-June on the east coast, and lists are finalised in advance of it.

How do you check your Matsyakara Sevalo status?

1. Open bm-sgsw.ap.gov.in, the Andhra Pradesh Beneficiary Management portal.
2. Enter your Aadhaar number and the captcha.
3. Read the status screen, which shows whether your name is in the sanctioned list for the current cycle and whether the amount has been released.

You can also ask at your village or ward secretariat, where the provisional and final lists are displayed on the notice board. The secretariat is the better route when the portal shows nothing at all, because that usually means the application never entered the system.

How do you claim the ex-gratia after a death at sea?

Ex-gratia of up to Rs 10 lakh is payable when a fisherman dies accidentally during fishing operations. The family should:

1. Report the death to the police and obtain the FIR or inquest report, the claim turns on the death having occurred during fishing operations, and the police record is what establishes that.
2. Obtain the death certificate from the panchayat or municipality.
3. Approach the district Fisheries office with the deceased person's registration certificate, Aadhaar, the death certificate, the police report, and the nominee's bank account details.
4. Submit the claim and keep the acknowledgement.

The ex-gratia is a separate component from the Rs 20,000 relief and does not replace it for the year in which the death occurred.

Why do Matsyakara Sevalo payments fail?

• Fisherman registration lapsed or missing, the most common cause.
• Bank account not Aadhaar-seeded, so the DBT credit bounces back.
• Name mismatch between Aadhaar and the bank record. Telugu-to-English transliteration differences are frequent here.
• Age outside 21 to 60 at the time the list was frozen.
• Another welfare pension already drawn by the same person, which triggers an exclusion check.
• Duplicate claim within the household, held pending verification.
• Occupation recorded as non-fishing during the field verification.

Corrections to bank and Aadhaar details are made at the village or ward secretariat. Registration and occupation disputes go to the district Fisheries office.

Where do you raise a Matsyakara Sevalo grievance?

• Village secretariat or ward secretariat, the first point of contact for list, document and bank-seeding issues.
• District Fisheries Officer, for registration, craft records and ex-gratia claims.
• Department of Fisheries portal: fisheries.ap.gov.in, which publishes the department's government orders and scheme pages.
• Beneficiary Management portal: bm-sgsw.ap.gov.in for payment status.

There is no fee to apply for Matsyakara Sevalo. No agent can charge to have a name added to the beneficiary list, and no official will ask for your bank OTP. Because the scheme has been renamed and its benefit amounts revised at least once since 2019, confirm the current year's figures at your district Fisheries office before planning around them.