Bhubaneswar: To promote inter-caste marriages Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on October 27 launched a web portal that would help inter-caste couples get an incentive within 60 days of application.
Launching the Sumangal portal, Patnaik also announced hike in the incentive from 100,000 rupees to 250,000 rupees. Patnaik said such kind of marriages would lead to social harmony.
The portal was developed by the the state’s welfare department for Dalit, Tribal, Minority and Backward classes.
To get the one-time incentive, the marriage should be between upper-caste Hindus and Hindu of scheduled castes. The marriage should be valid as per the law and duly registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. One of the spouses should belong to the scheduled castes as defined under Article 341 of the Constitution of India.
The grant would be given only to people marrying for the first time. However in case, the bride is a widow or the bride-groom a widower, they would be eligible for the incentive. Incentive would also be given for the purchase of lands/essential articles for house-hold or for starting a business.
Odisha had last hiked the incentive for inter-caste marriage in August 2017 when it raised it had it from 50,000 rupees to 100,000 rupees.
At least 17 percent of Odisha’s population are Dalits. Last year, 658 inter-caste marriages had taken place in Odisha.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/odisha-launches-web-portal-for-inter-caste-marriages-raises-incentive-to-2-5-lakh/story-hXPxzUMCRweKle8Y0ScpCL.html