The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, announced on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, that the first tranche of payments related to the Annapurna Yojana Scheme for women was paid out to about 1.1 crore individuals.
Announcing this development during the launch ceremony of the scheme at Netaji Indoor Stadium, Kolkata, Adhikari said that although 1.6 crore applications have been submitted for this scheme, 26 lakh of those applications have been turned down because of doubts regarding the citizenship and domiciliary status of the applicants. Justifying his action, he stated that it was essential to conduct thorough investigations and that the money of Indian taxpayers could not be given to outsiders.
The Annapurna Yojana was launched by the BJP-led administration to offer a ₹3,000 monthly subsidy to those eligible women who would replace the Lakshimir Bhandar scheme of the earlier TMC administration. Explaining why the 26 lakh applications were turned down, the Chief Minister said that it was necessary to identify those eligible for benefit from the state-sponsored scheme before dispensing the cash directly into their bank accounts.
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