Incentive to Widow Remarriage

What is the Incentive to Widow Remarriage scheme?

Incentive to Widow Remarriage is a women development scheme of the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Puducherry. According to the department, the object of the scheme is "to encourage widows to remarry a bachelor or widower to lead a normal life", and it does this by giving the remarrying widow an incentive of Rs 50,000 in the form of a National Savings Certificate.

The scheme belongs to a group of women development schemes the department runs alongside the Integrated Child Development Services programme. Its neighbours in that group include the Grant of Marriage Allowances to the Widow's Daughter, financial assistance for the marriage of poor brides, and the incentive to families with one or two girl children. All of them are administered by the same office and use broadly the same paperwork.

Two features distinguish this scheme from an ordinary marriage assistance grant. The first is the form of the benefit: it is a savings certificate, taken in the beneficiary's own name, not cash handed over at the wedding. The second is the timing rule: the application has to reach the department before the marriage, not after it.

Who is eligible for the widow remarriage incentive, and who is not?

You can apply if:

• You are a widow, and you can produce the death certificate of your husband.
• Your annual income does not exceed Rs 75,000, certified by the Revenue Department.
• You are a citizen of India and a native of the union territory of Puducherry by birth, or you have resided there continuously for not less than five years.
• The man you are marrying is a bachelor or a widower.
• Your application reaches the department at least 30 days before the date of the proposed marriage.

You cannot apply if:

• Your husband is alive, or you are separated or divorced rather than widowed. The scheme is confined to widows and turns on the death certificate.
• Your certified annual income is above Rs 75,000.
• You are not a native of Puducherry and cannot show five continuous years of residence in the union territory.
• The marriage has already taken place. An application filed after the wedding does not meet the 30-day advance condition and is not eligible.
• The bridegroom's status does not fit the scheme's condition that he be a bachelor or a widower.

The scheme does not publish an upper age limit for the widow, and it does not require that the earlier marriage have produced children or that it have been registered. What it does require, without exception, is documentary proof of widowhood and of income and residence.

How much is the incentive, and in what form is it given?

The incentive is Rs 50,000, and the department gives it in the form of a National Savings Certificate in the beneficiary's name.

That form matters in practice. A National Savings Certificate is a small savings instrument sold through post offices. It is held for a fixed term and earns interest over that term; the holder receives the maturity value at the end rather than cash on the day of issue. The design is deliberate. The scheme is meant to leave the woman with an asset in her own name rather than with money that is absorbed into wedding expenses.

Applicants should therefore plan the wedding budget without counting on this money being available on the wedding day. It will not be.

An earlier version of the scheme is still quoted on some third-party listings at Rs 20,000 with an income ceiling of Rs 24,000. The Department of Women and Child Development's own scheme page now states Rs 50,000 and an income ceiling of Rs 75,000, and that is the current position.

How to apply for the Incentive to Widow Remarriage

The scheme is administered on paper by the Department of Women and Child Development. There is no separate online application portal for it.

1. Fix the marriage date and count back 30 days. The application must be submitted at least 30 days before the proposed marriage, so the paperwork has to start well before the invitation is printed.
2. Get the income and residence certificates from the Revenue Department. These take time and are the usual cause of a missed 30-day window. Apply for them first.
3. Collect the death certificate of your late husband and age proofs for both the bride and the bridegroom.
4. Obtain the application form free of cost from the Department of Women and Child Development, or from the women development application forms section of wcd.py.gov.in.
5. Fill the form and attach the enclosures, income certificate, residence certificate, marriage invitation, death certificate of the first husband, and age proof of both parties.
6. Submit the application to the right office. In Puducherry region, to the Deputy Director (Women Development), Department of Women and Child Development, Puducherry. In Karaikal, to the Child Development Project Officer, Karaikal. In Mahe and Yanam, to the Welfare Officer of the region concerned.
7. Take a dated acknowledgement with an inward number, and keep it for every follow-up.

How do you check the status, and how long does it take?

The department states plainly that selection is periodical and depends on the availability of funds. There is no published service-level timeline and no online status tracker for this scheme.

• Follow up at the office where you submitted the application, quoting the inward number and date.
• The department publishes a beneficiary list for the grant of incentives to widow remarriage on wcd.py.gov.in. Checking that list is the most reliable way to confirm whether a case has been sanctioned.
• If there is delay, the department's own escalation route is: in Puducherry, the Director, Department of Women and Child Development, Sithankudi, Puducherry; in Karaikal, the Collector, Karaikal; and in Mahe and Yanam, the Regional Administrator concerned.

Why do applications get rejected, and how do you avoid it?

• Application filed after the marriage. This is the leading reason and it cannot be cured afterwards. File 30 days ahead.
• Income certificate above Rs 75,000. Get the certificate corrected at the Revenue Department if it overstates the position; do not submit and hope.
• Residence not established. A ration card alone is thin. Add a nativity certificate, voter roll entry and utility bills covering five years.
• Death certificate missing or in a different name spelling. Get the spelling corrected before submitting; the department matches it against the widow's own identity documents.
• Bridegroom's status unclear. If he is a widower, attach the death certificate of his earlier spouse. If he is a bachelor, give the declaration the form asks for.
• Marriage invitation without a clear date. The date is what the 30-day rule is measured against, so it must be legible on the invitation.

What related schemes should a widow in Puducherry also look at?

• Grant of Marriage Allowances to the Widow's Daughter — the same department's assistance for the marriage of a widow's daughter, applied for at the same offices.
• Old Age Persons and Destitutes Pension. The department's social defence pension, relevant for older widows who are not remarrying.
• Grant of Incentive to the Family Having One Girl Child or Two Girl Children, for parents who have undergone family planning, with Rs 30,000 deposited for a single girl child or Rs 15,000 for each of two, payable at age 18.

Where do you complain?

• Escalate first to the Director, Department of Women and Child Development, Sithankudi, Puducherry. The department publishes its contact number as 0413-2244785 and its e-mail as wcd[at]py[dot]gov[dot]in.
• In Karaikal, approach the Collector, Karaikal; in Mahe and Yanam, the Regional Administrator concerned.
• An unresolved grievance can be filed on CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in against the Government of Puducherry, Department of Women and Child Development.

No fee is payable to any person for the form, the certificates check or the sanction. Anyone demanding money to "arrange" this incentive should be reported to the Director.