The fourth instalment of ₹3,000 under the Annapurna Yojana has been transferred directly to the bank accounts of more than 1.5 crore women in West Bengal, according to announcements made at a state-level event attended virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and inaugurated by Suvendu Adhikari on Thursday.
Modi said the scheme had been designed to bypass intermediaries and ensure that welfare payments reached beneficiaries without what he described as the “cut money” system. He said nearly 1.58 crore women across Bengal were receiving the monthly transfer directly in their bank accounts.
“There is no cut money. Now, cut money does not work in Bengal,” Modi said, while crediting women voters with helping bring about the change of government on May 4. He said poor families in the state had previously been excluded from central welfare schemes because of bureaucratic bottlenecks and what he described as a lack of political will.
The Prime Minister said the monthly payment could help women manage household expenses, including children’s education, medical purchases and essential daily needs. He also contrasted the current administration’s approach with what he described as delays under the previous government, citing the phrase “less talk, more work” as its governance principle.
Adhikari said the administration was seeking systemic reform rather than merely distributing financial assistance. He confirmed that the fourth instalment had reached the accounts of over 1.5 crore beneficiaries, although the report did not provide a district-wise breakdown of recipients, the total programme cost or details of the transfer mechanism.
The event also included an announcement on housing ownership. Adhikari said a newly finalised list of more than 50 lakh homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana would have property deeds registered exclusively or jointly in women’s names. Such registration would extend the welfare programme’s effect beyond cash support into formal ownership of residential assets across rural and urban areas of the state.
The announcement leaves open several implementation questions, including how the housing list was finalised, how joint ownership will be recorded, and when beneficiaries will receive their deeds. No further details on the registration schedule or the administrative process were provided in the report.
Adhikari also said a dedicated inquiry commission headed by retired Justice Samapti Chatterjee had been operationalised over the past four months to investigate historic atrocities against women. He pledged action against offenders and said the government would work to prevent child marriage, particularly in districts including Murshidabad and South 24-Parganas. The event concluded with commitments to address narcotics, criminal protection rackets and illegal underage marriages.
