Delhi Family Benefit Scheme

What is the Delhi Family Benefit Scheme?

Delhi Family Benefit Scheme is a one-time cash grant run by the Department of Social Welfare, Government of NCT of Delhi. According to the department's financial assistance schemes page, the scheme pays Rs 20,000 to a poor family living in Delhi when the household's primary breadwinner dies between the ages of 18 and 60.

The design is deliberately narrow. It is not a pension and not a general death benefit, it is emergency relief for the specific situation where a working-age earner dies and a low-income household suddenly loses its income. The money is meant to help the family through the immediate weeks after a death, when funeral costs, outstanding rent and lost wages arrive at the same time.

Key features

• One-time payment of Rs 20,000, credited electronically.
• Applies only where the deceased was aged 18 to 60 at death.
• Requires five years' residence in Delhi and family income below Rs 1,00,000 a year.
• Free application on the Delhi e-District portal, verified district-wise.

The scheme corresponds to the National Family Benefit Scheme component that states run under the National Social Assistance Programme, and Delhi implements it through its own Department of Social Welfare and the e-District portal.

Who is eligible for the Delhi Family Benefit Scheme?

Your family can claim the Rs 20,000 if:

• The primary breadwinner of the household has died, and was between 18 and 60 years of age at the time of death.
• The family has been residing in Delhi for at least five years before the application.
• The family's annual income does not exceed Rs 1,00,000 from all sources.
• The applicant holds a valid Aadhaar number.
• The applicant has a singly-operated bank account in their own name, seeded with Aadhaar, for the electronic transfer.

You cannot apply if:

• The deceased was above 60 years of age at death. That case falls outside this scheme; the surviving spouse may instead be eligible for the Delhi Old Age Assistance Scheme if aged 60 or above, or the Delhi Pension Scheme to Women in Distress if a widow.
• The deceased was below 18 years of age, or was not the household's main earner.
• Family income is Rs 1,00,000 a year or more.
• The family cannot prove five years of continuous residence in Delhi.
• The applicant has only a joint bank account, or an account that is not linked to Aadhaar.
• No death certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths is available.

A family that has already received this grant for one death cannot claim it again for the same death, and the benefit is a single payment per bereaved household.

How much is paid and how?

The grant is Rs 20,000, paid once. There is no instalment structure and no monthly component. After the District Social Welfare Office verifies the death certificate, the age of the deceased, the family income and the residence proof, the amount is transferred electronically into the applicant's single-operated bank account. Because the payment depends on Aadhaar-to-account seeding at the bank, families should confirm with their branch that the account is seeded in the NPCI mapper before applying — an unseeded account is the commonest reason a sanctioned payment does not arrive.

What documents are required?

Keep at least two original copies of the death certificate. One is needed here, and others are usually required for insurance, bank claims and property matters at the same time.

How to apply for the Delhi Family Benefit Scheme

1. Obtain the death certificate of the deceased from the Registrar of Births and Deaths. Nothing can proceed without it, so apply for it first.
2. Open the Delhi e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and complete New User Registration with the applicant's Aadhaar number or voter ID, then log in.
3. Select Apply for Services, choose the Department of Social Welfare, and pick the Family Benefit Scheme service.
4. Fill the application with the deceased person's name, date of birth, date of death and relationship to the applicant, along with the family's annual income and the applicant's bank account number and IFSC code.
5. Upload the scanned death certificate, age proof of the deceased, five-year residence proof, Aadhaar and bank passbook page.
6. Submit the form and save the application number on the acknowledgement.
7. Respond to the verification carried out by the District Social Welfare Office, which may include a visit to the address recorded.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the District Social Welfare Office of your district, or the Department of Social Welfare at 7th Floor, MSO Building, ITO, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002.
2. Collect the Family Benefit Scheme application form and fill it in.
3. Attach self-attested copies of the death certificate, age proof of the deceased, applicant's Aadhaar, five-year residence proof and bank passbook, together with the income declaration.
4. Submit at the counter and keep the dated receipt carrying the diary number for follow-up.

How to check your application status

1. Log in to edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and open Track your Application.
2. Enter the application number from the acknowledgement receipt.
3. The portal displays whether the case is pending, under verification, sanctioned or rejected.

If the case shows sanctioned but no credit reaches the account, check with the bank branch before returning to the department: in most such cases the account is either dormant or not Aadhaar-seeded.

Why Family Benefit Scheme claims get rejected

• Deceased was outside the 18 to 60 age band at the time of death.
• The deceased was not the primary breadwinner of the household, as found during field verification.
• Family income above Rs 1,00,000 a year.
• Residence in Delhi for less than five years, or residence documents that do not cover the full period.
• Death certificate missing or issued by a hospital rather than the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
• Joint bank account given, or the account is not seeded with Aadhaar.
• Name mismatch between the death certificate, the applicant's Aadhaar and the bank record.

Most of these are correctable. Get the registrar's certificate if you only have a hospital slip, open a single-operated account in your own name if you share one, and get the branch to complete Aadhaar seeding.

Key timing advice

No annual last date is announced for the scheme, but the practical rule is to apply as soon as the death certificate is in hand. Verification takes time, and a long delay between the death and the application makes it harder for the District Social Welfare Office to confirm that the deceased was the household's main earner.

Where to raise a grievance

Take unresolved cases to the District Social Welfare Officer for your district with your application number and acknowledgement. If that does not work, write to the Department of Social Welfare, 7th Floor, MSO Building, ITO, I.P. Estate, New Delhi 110002, or file a complaint through the Delhi government's public grievance system. The application costs nothing, and no official or agent is entitled to a fee for sanctioning this grant.