Grant for Marriage of the Daughter of a Scheduled Caste Individual

What is the Grant for Marriage of the Daughter of a Scheduled Caste Individual?

Grant for Marriage of the Daughter of a Scheduled Caste Individual is a one-time cash grant paid by the Social Welfare Department, Government of Uttarakhand to poor Scheduled Caste families at the time of a daughter's marriage. The department lists the scheme on its own website as the Marriage Grant Scheme, and it is widely known in Uttarakhand by its Hindi name, shaadi anudaan yojana.

Uttarakhand pays Rs 50,000 for one daughter's marriage, and the grant is available for a maximum of two daughters in the same family. A household with three or more daughters can therefore draw at most Rs 1,00,000 in total under this scheme. The money is released through Direct Benefit Transfer into the bank account named on the application, not as cash at a counter.

The Social Welfare Department places the marriage grant on the same ssp.uk.gov.in platform that carries the state's eight social security pensions, with a dedicated online form at ssp.uk.gov.in/OnlineRegistration/FrmShaadiOnlineApplicationForm.aspx. The same portal's dashboard shows a maintenance grant (bharan poshan anudaan) and several pensions running alongside it, all administered by the same directorate in Dehradun.

Grant for Marriage of the Daughter of a Scheduled Caste Individual sits inside the department's wider marriage grant framework, which also covers daughters of families below the poverty line and widows in general and reserved categories. The Scheduled Caste arm described on this page is the one aimed specifically at Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households.

Key features

• Rs 50,000 per daughter, one time, not recurring.
• Two daughters maximum per family.
• Paid by DBT into a core banking account.
• Applied for free, online or at the District Social Welfare Office.
• Sanctioned and verified by the District Social Welfare Officer.

Who is eligible for the Uttarakhand marriage grant?

A family can apply if:

• The family belongs to a Scheduled Caste: or, under the same departmental framework, a Scheduled Tribe, and holds a valid caste certificate issued by the tehsildar or SDM.
• The family is permanently resident in Uttarakhand and can produce a residence certificate.
• The household is poor by the test the department applies, a BPL card or an income certificate within the ceiling in force.
• The daughter being married is at least 18 years old, the legal minimum age of marriage for a woman.
• The daughter is the first or second daughter of the family to claim the grant.
• The applicant parent or guardian holds a CBS bank account for the DBT credit.

A family cannot apply if:

• The family is not Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe and is claiming under this arm of the scheme. Such families should ask about the BPL daughter or widow arms of the marriage grant instead.
• The household income exceeds the department's ceiling and there is no BPL card.
• The daughter is below 18 years. An under-age marriage is not merely ineligible, it is a criminal offence, and Uttarakhand's departments actively intervene to stop child marriages.
• The family has already drawn the grant for two daughters. A third daughter is not eligible.
• The family is not resident in Uttarakhand.
• The caste certificate is missing or not in the prescribed form.

On the income ceiling: the Social Welfare Department's published service pages for the marriage grant do not state an income figure. Scheme directories commonly cite an annual family income of about Rs 48,000 as the ceiling for this grant. Because the figure is not confirmed on the department's own pages, confirm the ceiling actually in force with your District Social Welfare Officer before you spend money on certificates.

What documents are required for the marriage grant?

Get the caste certificate, residence certificate and income certificate ready well before the wedding date. These three take the longest at the tehsil counter and are the documents that most often hold up a marriage grant file.

How to apply for the marriage grant online

1. Open the Social Welfare Department's marriage grant form at ssp.uk.gov.in/OnlineRegistration/FrmShaadiOnlineApplicationForm.aspx, or reach it from the Marriage Grant Scheme page on socialwelfare.uk.gov.in.
2. Select your district, block or municipal body, and village or ward, and enter the applicant's mobile number.
3. Fill in the applicant's details: name, caste, category, Aadhaar number — and the daughter's details, including her name, date of birth and the date of marriage.
4. Enter the bank account number and IFSC code of a CBS branch account for the DBT credit.
5. Upload the scanned documents; caste certificate, residence certificate, income certificate or BPL card, marriage proof, the daughter's age proof, family register extract, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
6. Submit the form and save the application number shown on the confirmation screen. Every later status check needs it.
7. Take a printout of the submitted form and deposit it with supporting papers at the District Social Welfare Office if the office asks for the physical set.

The same application can be filed at a Common Service Centre or Jan Seva Kendra for the notified assisted-service fee, and through the state's Apni Sarkar portal at eservices.uk.gov.in where the service is listed there.

How to apply offline at the District Social Welfare Office

1. Visit the District Social Welfare Office in your district headquarters and collect the shaadi anudaan application form free of charge.
2. Attach self-attested copies of the caste certificate, residence certificate, income certificate or BPL card, marriage proof, the daughter's age proof, family register extract, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
3. Submit the complete set at the counter and collect the dated acknowledgement with the reference number.
4. Follow up with the office after the wedding date if the district requires post-marriage verification before sanction.

Practice on timing varies between districts. Some offices accept the application shortly before the marriage and release the grant after verifying that the marriage took place; others accept it only after the marriage. Ask your District Social Welfare Officer which rule applies in your district before you file.

How to check your marriage grant application status

1. Open ssp.uk.gov.in and use the application status link.
2. Enter the application number you saved when submitting the form.
3. Read the stage shown: pending at block level, verified, sanctioned or rejected with a reason.
4. Confirm the credit in the bank passbook of the account given on the form.

Why marriage grant applications are rejected in Uttarakhand

• Caste certificate missing or expired, or issued by an authority other than the competent tehsildar or SDM.
• Income certificate above the ceiling in force, or no BPL card attached.
• Daughter's age below 18 on the date of marriage.
• Third or later daughter in a family that has already claimed twice.
• Bank account problems, a closed account, wrong IFSC code, or an account not seeded with Aadhaar, which makes the DBT credit bounce back.
• Marriage not evidenced; no marriage certificate, card or registration receipt on the file.
• Name mismatch between the caste certificate, Aadhaar, family register and bank passbook.

Most of these are fixable within the same financial year. Correct the document, resubmit through ssp.uk.gov.in and follow the file up in person with the District Social Welfare Officer, who is the sanctioning authority.

Where to ask questions or complain

• Social Welfare Department toll-free helpline: 1800-180-4236, and the department's mobile and WhatsApp number 63952-21188.
• District Social Welfare Officer in your district headquarters, for verification delays, rejections and payment failures.
• Directorate of Social Welfare, Uttarakhand, IT Cell, C/O Directorate Tribal Welfare, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, Adhoiwala, Dehradun 248001, email swditcell[at]gmail[dot]com.
• Chief Minister's helpline 1905 where the district office does not resolve the grievance.

Applications for the marriage grant are free. No official, pradhan or agent may charge a fee to process a shaadi anudaan file, the grant is always paid by bank transfer, and no department official will ask you for a bank OTP.