Palanhaar Yojana

What is Palanhaar Yojana?

Palanhaar Yojana is a child-welfare scheme of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Rajasthan. According to the department's FAQ document on sje.rajasthan.gov.in, the purpose of Palanhaar Yojana is to give financial help so that orphan children and children in defined care-and-protection categories can be brought up, protected and educated inside a family, rather than in an institution.

The word palanhar means the person who raises the child. Rajasthan pays money to that guardian. A relative, a neighbour, or even an adult sibling; instead of placing the child in a home. Palanhaar Yojana runs under the Palanhar Yojana Rules, which were revised by the department in 2022, with a further order in 2023 increasing the amounts and an order in 2024 moving the entire application process online.

Palanhaar Yojana is administered through the district and block Social Security Offices of the department, and served online through the Rajasthan Palanhaar Portal at sjmsnew.rajasthan.gov.in/palanhaar.

Who is eligible for Palanhaar Yojana?

The child must fall in one of these ten categories:

1. Orphan boy or girl.
2. Child of parents who have received a death sentence or life imprisonment under judicial orders.
3. Child of a widow mother who is drawing pension: maximum three children at a time.
4. Child of a remarried widow mother.
5. Child of HIV or AIDS affected parents.
6. Child of leprosy-affected parents.
7. Child of a nata mother, maximum three children at a time.
8. Child of specially-abled parents.
9. Child of a divorced or abandoned woman who is drawing pension.
10. Child of silicosis-affected parents.

The palanhar must also meet these conditions:

• Be a resident of Rajasthan, or have lived in the state for at least three years.
• Have annual family income of not more than Rs 1.20 lakh.
• Have the child added to their own Jan Aadhaar record.
• Ensure the child is enrolled at an anganwadi centre (age 0 to 6) or is studying in school (age 6 to 18). Attendance is a condition of payment, not a formality.

Who cannot apply or stops being eligible

• Families where the child is above 18, except where the child turns 18 while still in Class 12 or below, in which case one extra year up to age 19 is allowed.
• A palanhar who joins government service is not eligible and must have the case stopped.
• A palanhar whose annual income rises above the Rs 1.20 lakh ceiling.
• A widow palanhar who remarries, or a divorced or abandoned woman who remarries.
• Cases where the palanhar or the child has died.

The department places the duty of reporting these changes on the palanhar and the family. Stopping the case is done at the block Social Security Office. Continuing to draw money after becoming ineligible is treated as a wrongful payment.

How much does Palanhaar Yojana pay?

On top of the monthly amount, Palanhaar Yojana pays Rs 2,000 a year as a one-time additional grant for books, stationery, clothes, sweater and shoes. This annual grant is not payable to widow palanhars and nata palanhars.

Attending an anganwadi centre or a school is compulsory for the 6 to 18 rate. A child studying in another district, or even in another state, still remains eligible — the department confirms this explicitly in its FAQ.

What documents are required for Palanhaar Yojana?

For the palanhar:

• Jan Aadhaar card.
• Proof of Rajasthan residence or three years' stay: domicile certificate, ration card or voter ID. Not required if the palanhar holds a BPL, Astha or Antyodaya card, draws a widow, divorced, abandoned, specially-abled or silicosis pension, or is a PDS beneficiary.
• Proof that annual income does not exceed Rs 1.20 lakh, with the same list of exemptions.

For the child:

• Aadhaar card.
• Linkage to the palanhar's Jan Aadhaar.
• Anganwadi registration or school study certificate, waived if the child is verified through the Shala Darpan portal.

Category-wise proof

How to apply for Palanhaar Yojana

Palanhaar Yojana accepts online applications only. There is no paper form submitted at an office.

1. Collect the palanhar's Jan Aadhaar card, the child's Aadhaar, the category-specific certificate and the school or anganwadi proof.
2. Choose one of the three online routes, visit any nearby e-Mitra kiosk, log in yourself at sso.rajasthan.gov.in and open the Palanhar service, or install the Palanhar Scheme mobile app and file a new application using face authentication.
3. Fill in the palanhar's details, the child's details and the category being claimed, and upload the supporting documents.
4. Submit the application and note down the application number shown on screen. You will need it to track status and to clear objections.
5. Track the application at sjmsnew.rajasthan.gov.in/palanhaar/Appstatus.aspx using the application number or the Jan Aadhaar number.

Applications are decided within a fixed timeline set in the departmental guidelines; an application not disposed of within the prescribed period is treated as deemed approved and moves forward in the system.

How to check Palanhaar application and payment status

1. Open the Palanhaar Portal at sjmsnew.rajasthan.gov.in/palanhaar/Appstatus.aspx.
2. Enter your application number or Jan Aadhaar number.
3. Read the status screen, which shows both the application stage and the payment history.

The same information is available on the Palanhar Scheme mobile app, and at the block Social Security Office of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Why Palanhaar payments stop, and how to fix it

The department lists three main reasons for irregular payment:

• Annual renewal (verification) pending. Every July, the palanhar and the children must be re-verified, and the child's study certificate must be supplied.
• Wrong bank account number or IFSC code.
• Jan Aadhaar number not updated in the online application.

Fixes follow a strict order. To correct a bank account number or mobile number, you must first update it in the Jan Aadhaar card; only after Jan Aadhaar is updated can the block Social Security Office update it in the Palanhaar record. A wrong Jan Aadhaar or Aadhaar number in the application is corrected at the district office of the department. A wrong date of birth can be corrected once, through the Jan Aadhaar or Aadhaar portal, on the basis of the birth certificate or the Class 10 board certificate, and only before the child turns 18 or 19.

If your e-Mitra kiosk has shut down, the block Social Security Office can transfer your application to a different e-Mitra kiosk.

What is the annual renewal rule?

Renewal is the single rule that most often costs a family its money.

• Verification opens in July each year and must be completed within a maximum of six months, July to December.
• If the palanhar does not verify within that window, the application is temporarily rejected for the running academic session.
• If the palanhar does not verify at all during one academic year (July to June), the application is permanently rejected for that session, and the family is not eligible for the benefit for that period.

Renewal covers two things, proof that the palanhar is alive, and proof that the children are registered at an anganwadi or studying in school. Children whose study certificate is picked up automatically from the Shala Darpan portal do not need to submit a separate certificate. Renewal can also be done through face authentication on the Palanhar app, without visiting anyone.

What can the Palanhar Scheme app do?

According to the department, the Palanhar Scheme mobile app supports five services:

1. Filing a new application through face authentication.
2. Clearing objections raised on an application.
3. Completing the annual renewal of the palanhar and the children through face authentication.
4. Checking the current status of the application.
5. Checking the payment details under the scheme.

The Aadhaar Face RD app must be installed on the phone for face authentication to work.

Help and grievance redressal

• Palanhaar helpdesk: 1800-180-6127
• Email: raj.palanhar@rajasthan.gov.in
• Block Social Security Office of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment for objections, stop requests and record corrections
• District office of the department for Jan Aadhaar and Aadhaar corrections in the application

Palanhaar Yojana is a free government benefit. An e-Mitra kiosk may charge the notified service fee for filing the form, but no agent can charge for "getting your name added" to the scheme.