Grant of Financial Assistance to Poor Scheduled Caste Pregnant and Lactating Women

What is the Grant of Financial Assistance to Poor Scheduled Caste Pregnant and Lactating Women?

Grant of Financial Assistance to Poor Scheduled Caste Pregnant and Lactating Women is a welfare scheme of the Adi Dravidar Welfare and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department, Government of Puducherry. The department states the objective directly: "To provide financial Assistance to poor pregnant women and Lactating Scheduled Caste women."

According to the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, the total assistance is Rs 12,000 in cash, split into two halves:

• Pre-natal assistance of Rs 2,000 in cash per month for three months prior to the month of delivery.
• Post-natal assistance of Rs 2,000 in cash per month for three months following delivery.

The design of the payment tells you what the scheme is for. The pre-natal half arrives in the last trimester, when a woman doing manual or daily-wage work most needs to stop or reduce work and eat better. The post-natal half arrives in the months when a lactating mother is still not back at work. Taken together, the Rs 12,000 is an income replacement for the six months around a delivery, aimed at Scheduled Caste households in Puducherry with limited means.

The scheme is one of a set of Adi Dravidar Welfare Department measures for Scheduled Caste families in the Union Territory, alongside house site distribution, house construction subsidy, marriage assistance for poor Scheduled Caste brides, financial assistance for funeral rites, assistance for construction of sanitary latrines, and a range of scholarships.

Who is eligible for this maternity assistance in Puducherry?

The department publishes five conditions.

You can apply if:

• You are a woman of Scheduled Caste.
• You belong to the Union Territory of Puducherry by virtue of birth, or by continuous residence of not less than three years.
• You apply from the sixth month of pregnancy and within three months from the date of delivery.
• The annual income of you and your spouse together does not exceed Rs 2,00,000.
• This is your first or second delivery.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not of Scheduled Caste. The scheme is administered by the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department for Scheduled Caste beneficiaries.
• You have neither been born in the Union Territory of Puducherry nor lived there continuously for three years.
• Your household income exceeds Rs 2,00,000 a year.
• You are applying for a third or subsequent delivery. The department states the grant is available only for two deliveries.
• You are applying before the sixth month of pregnancy or more than three months after delivery. Both put the application outside the permitted window.

What documents are required?

The Adi Dravidar Welfare Department lists the enclosures to be attached to the application.

The community, nativity and income certificates are issued by the Revenue Department of the Union Territory. Because they take time, a pregnant woman should start collecting them in the fourth or fifth month rather than waiting for the sixth, when the application window opens.

How to apply for the Scheduled Caste pregnant and lactating women assistance

1. Get the three Revenue Department certificates first; Scheduled Caste community certificate, nativity or residence certificate, and income certificate showing combined annual income of you and your spouse not exceeding Rs 2,00,000. Apply for these at the Taluk Office or through the Puducherry e-District service.
2. Get the medical certificate. Obtain the certificate from the Medical Superintendent of the Maternity Hospital where you are registered, or from the Medical Officer in-charge of your Primary Health Centre, Sub-Centre or peripheral maternity or health centre in the Union Territory.
3. Collect the application form from the Adi Dravidar Welfare and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department office in your region; Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam. The department also publishes downloadable forms on adwelfare.py.gov.in.
4. Fill the form and attach the enclosures; Aadhaar card, discharge summary or birth certificate, medical certificate, ration card and Aadhaar of both spouses, and a copy of your bank account details.
5. Submit it between the sixth month of pregnancy and three months after delivery. Applying in the sixth or seventh month is the safest course, because it lets the department sanction the pre-natal instalments before the delivery rather than in arrears.
6. Keep the acknowledgement and note the file reference. Follow up with the same office on the sanction.

How is the Rs 12,000 paid out?

The department's stated structure is six monthly payments of Rs 2,000 each, anchored to the month of delivery:

Because the pre-natal half is tied to the three months before delivery, an application filed late — say in the ninth month: leaves little room for the pre-natal instalments to be released on time. This is the single strongest practical reason to apply in the sixth month.

The assistance is limited to two deliveries in the lifetime of the beneficiary.

Why applications are rejected, and how to fix them

• Applied outside the window. Filed before the sixth month of pregnancy or more than three months after delivery. There is no cure other than applying within time for a subsequent eligible delivery.
• Income certificate above Rs 2,00,000. The ceiling is on the combined income of the applicant and her spouse, so both incomes must be reflected correctly in the certificate.
• Private hospital certificate only. The department names the Medical Superintendent of a Maternity Hospital or the Medical Officer in-charge of a government primary health facility of the Union Territory. Get the certificate from the correct authority.
• Residence not established. Neither birth in Puducherry nor three years' continuous residence proved. A nativity or residence certificate from the Revenue Department settles it.
• Third delivery. Not curable. The scheme covers two deliveries only.
• Bank details mismatched. The account should be in the applicant's own name and the details legible, or the release fails at the treasury stage.
• Spouse's documents missing. The department asks for the ration card and Aadhaar of both, and an application with only the woman's papers is incomplete.

Where to apply and how to raise a grievance

Applications go to the Adi Dravidar Welfare and Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department office of your region; Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam. The department publishes its scheme pages, downloadable forms and contact details at adwelfare.py.gov.in, and its web information manager is listed there as the Junior Accounts Officer of the department.

For a grievance that the office does not resolve, the department's site links to the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), where a complaint can be filed against the Government of Puducherry and routed to the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department.

Applying is free. No fee is payable for the form or for submission, and no agent is authorised to charge for getting a sanction under this scheme.