AP Extends YSR Cheyutha To Four More Castes

AMARAVATI: The Andhra Pradesh government led by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided to extend its ‘YSR Cheyutha’ (YSR Hand-holding) Scheme also to the women of four more castes, namely Budaga Jangam, Valmiki, Yeneti Kondh and Bentho Oriya. Significantly, the government simplified the process further by deciding to apply the scheme to these communities without the prerequisite of caste-proof certificates.

The YS Jagan government decided to relax the caste-proof norm as people of these communities are facing difficulties in obtaining their caste-proof certificates due to a variety of reasons. During a recent state cabinet meeting, several ministers have reportedly brought this issue to the notice of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. They said that despite having the eligibility, several people of these four castes were deprived of the benefits of the scheme due to the absence of caste certificates.

Based on the directions of the Chief Minister’s Office, the authorities have begun the exercise to reach the benefits of the scheme to these communities on the basis of their self-attested caste certificates. The YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government launched the YSR Cheyutha scheme on July 12th across the state. As part of the scheme, women in the age group of 45-60 years and belonging to SC, ST, BC and minority communities will be paid a total of Rs 75,000 over a period of four years. The brainchild of YS Jagan, the novel scheme aims to empower women of the weaker sections.

CEO of Society For Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) Raja Babu has said that the process to identify the eligible beneficiaries from these four new castes has been set in motion, indicating the YSRCP government’s seriousness to apply the scheme to all the deserving women beneficiaries in the state.