Govt relaxes qualification bar under Marriage Assistance Scheme
Srinagar, Oct 28: The government has relaxed the minimum qualification requirement under the Marriage Assistance Scheme for poor girls.
As per an order issued by the Social Welfare Department, the minimum eligibility of being a Class 8th pass or equivalent has been relaxed up to March 31, 2028.
The decision, made with the concurrence of the Finance Department and approval of the Council of Ministers, modifies an earlier order issued in 2022.
Officials said the relaxation aims to ensure that eligible applicants who were earlier denied benefits due to the qualification bar can now avail assistance under the scheme from April 1, 2025.
The move aimed at expanding the reach of welfare benefits will benefit a large number of beneficiaries.
According to the government order, the administration has decided to relax the minimum qualification requirement of “8th class pass or equivalent” up to March 31, 2028.
The decision, taken in partial modification of Government Order No 49-JK(SWD) of 2022 dated March 22, 2022, has been approved following the Council of Ministers’ Decision No 109/17/2025 dated October 15, 2025, and the Finance Department’s concurrence vide UO No FD-Code/314/2025-02-311 dated October 3, 2025.
The relaxation will be effective from April 1, 2025, onwards, the order said, adding that an amendment to the 2022 order had been annexed as “Annexure A”.
Further, the government has detailed the procedure for processing applications that were earlier rejected due to the qualification bar, as well as for those who could not apply because of the same condition.
The revised procedure has been outlined in Annexure “B” of the order.
The Marriage Assistance Scheme for Poor Girls is a key social welfare initiative that provides financial support to girls from underprivileged backgrounds at the time of their marriage.
The scheme, aimed at providing one-time financial assistance of Rs 75,000 to poor girls of marriageable age belonging to Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) or Priority Households (PHH) families, earlier required applicants to have passed at least 8th class, a condition that excluded many deserving beneficiaries, especially from rural and educationally backward areas.
