A Welfare State Like No Other | Telangana Library

Out of Telangana's 3.5 crore people, 44,82,254 receive a pension every month from the state government. That is one in every eight residents. In the decade before statehood, two successive governments spent Rs.5,558 crore on pensions across ten years in the combined state. The Telangana government spent Rs.58,696 crore in nine years. The scale of this commitment, its consistency and its reach across ten categories of need, has no parallel in any other Indian state.

When KCR's government took office on 2 June 2014, it inherited a state in which the poor had learned not to expect the government to support them. The United AP governments had provided pensions of Rs.75 per month under Telugu Desam and Rs.200 per month under Congress, to limited categories of people. The Telangana government did something fundamentally different. It identified ten categories of citizens who needed support, enrolled every eligible person without exception, and paid Rs.2,016 per month to most and Rs.3,016 to the disabled. It allocated Rs.50,000 crore every year for welfare, more than any other state in the country. And it did not stop at pensions. Kalyana Lakshmi helped families marry their daughters. KCR Kit brought mothers and newborns safely through childbirth. Arogya Lakshmi fed pregnant women every day in Anganwadi centres. Amma Vodi carried them to clinics in free ambulances. The welfare architecture built between 2014 and 2023 was not a collection of schemes. It was a statement about what the state owed its people.

44,82,254

People receiving Aasara Pensions every month in Telangana

Across ten categories, from the elderly and widows to weavers, toddy tappers, HIV patients and dialysis patients. Rs.58,696 crore disbursed over nine years. In the ten years before statehood, both governments together spent only Rs.5,558 crore on pensions in the combined state of Andhra Pradesh.

Aasara Pensions: Ten Categories, No One Left Behind

Aasara Pensions

Reassurance for Every Vulnerable Citizen

The Telugu Desam government had provided Rs.75 per month to certain groups. The Congress government provided Rs.200 per month. Both reached only selected categories. The Telangana government created ten pension categories covering every group that had been left without support, and paid Rs.2,016 per month to most and Rs.3,016 per month to the disabled. Every eligible person was enrolled on a saturation basis, meaning no deserving person was left out.

Telugu Desam government, combined AP, pension amount per month Rs.75

Congress government, combined AP, pension amount per month Rs.200

Total spent on pensions, 2004 to 2014, ten years in combined AP Rs.5,558 Cr

Telangana government, standard pension amount per month Rs.2,016

Telangana government, disabled pension per month Rs.3,016

Total spent on pensions, 2014 to 2023, nine years in Telangana Rs.58,696 Cr

Pension Category	Beneficiaries	Total Expenditure
Old Age Pension (above 57 years)	16,44,280	Rs.18,555.71 crore
Widow Pension	15,85,088	Rs.20,556.11 crore
Disabled Pension (Rs.3,016 per month)	5,16,890	Rs.10,310.36 crore
Beedi Workers Pension	4,25,793	Rs.5,712.30 crore
Single Women Pension	1,43,930	Rs.1,545.80 crore
Toddy Tappers Pension	67,048	Rs.880.45 crore
HIV Patients Pension	37,674	Rs.448.01 crore
Weavers Pension	38,240	Rs.518.58 crore
Filaria (Bodakalu) Patients Pension	18,644	Rs.161.84 crore
Dialysis Patients Pension	4,667	Rs.7.09 crore
Total	44,82,254	Rs.58,696.25 crore

Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak: Every Daughter's Wedding

Kalyana Lakshmi / Shaadi Mubarak

Rs.1,00,116 for Every Poor Family's Daughter's Wedding

In poor families, a daughter's marriage was a financial crisis. Child marriages were 56 percent between 2011 and 2014 as families tried to marry daughters young to reduce costs. The government responded by providing Rs.1,00,116 to every eligible SC, ST, BC and EBC family under Kalyana Lakshmi, and to Muslim families under Shaadi Mubarak. The scheme simultaneously reduced child marriages and eliminated the financial fear around daughters.

12,71,839

Poor families who received Kalyana Lakshmi or Shaadi Mubarak assistance for their daughter's wedding

Rs.11,130 Cr

Total spent over eight years under the combined Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak schemes

Rs.1,00,116

Financial assistance provided per family for marriage expenses, paid directly to the bride's account

KCR Kit: Safe Motherhood, Healthy Beginnings

KCR Kit

Supporting Every Mother Who Chooses a Government Hospital

Launched on 2 June 2017, the KCR Kit scheme provided financial assistance and a kit of 14 essential items to every mother who delivered in a government hospital. Rs.12,000 for a male child, Rs.13,000 for a female child, paid in four instalments linked to antenatal checkups and vaccinations. The extra Rs.1,000 for a girl child was a direct response to the practice of female feticide. Institutional deliveries in government hospitals rose from 30 percent to 50 percent of all deliveries as a result.

Year	Beneficiaries	Amount Spent (Rs. Crore)
2017-18	4,57,296	208.71
2018-19	2,42,412	220.87
2019-20	2,92,756	322.04
2020-21	1,98,811	238.68
2021-22	1,38,676	186.25
2022-23	60,685	85.13
Total	13,90,636	Rs.1,261.67 crore

Women and Child Welfare: A Complete System of Care

Scheme	What It Provided	Scale
KCR Nutrition Kit	Nutrition kits containing iron syrup, ghee, dates, nutrition mix and other supplements distributed to pregnant women in 9 high-anaemia districts. Rs.1,962 per kit. First programme of its kind in India.	231 government health centres across 9 districts. To be extended to all 33 districts.
Amma Vodi, 102 Services	300 free ambulances transporting pregnant women to antenatal checkups, for delivery and for infant immunisation. Reduced out-of-pocket expenditure for families and made safe delivery accessible to remote villages.	18,46,635 beneficiaries. Rs.172.08 crore spent.
Arogya Lakshmi	Hot nutritious mid-day meals including rice, dal, green vegetables and boiled egg provided to pregnant and lactating mothers at Anganwadi centres on at least 25 days per month, as spot feeding.	36,26,603 pregnant and lactating women benefited. 100% of Anganwadi centres covered, up from 56% before statehood. Praised by NITI Aayog.
Balamritham Plus	Fortified food for children aged 6 months to 5 years to prevent malnutrition. Supplied to 35,700 Anganwadi centres from a new plant at Telangana Foods with 2,500 metric tonne monthly capacity.	All 35,700 Anganwadi centres statewide.
Anganwadi worker remuneration	Rs.13,650 per month, highest in the country. Compare: Uttar Pradesh Rs.7,000, Rajasthan Rs.7,500, Maharashtra Rs.8,325.	2,356 vacant Anganwadi posts filled. 568 new supervisors appointed.
ASHA worker remuneration	Increased from Rs.2,000 per month in 2014 to Rs.9,750. Compare: Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan Rs.3,000, Gujarat Rs.6,700, Karnataka and Haryana Rs.4,000.	31,028 ASHA workers benefited.
V-Hub	Women Entrepreneur Hub set up to encourage women with entrepreneurial ambitions. Inaugurated on International Women's Day, 8 March 2018. Partnership with UNDP, CII, Salesforce, IIM Bangalore.	T-Fund venture capital established for women startups.

The Telangana State Government considers the expenditure on students as an investment for the future. In all kinds of schools and hostels, meals are served with rice and free books and uniforms are provided. No other state in the country is implementing as many welfare programmes as Telangana.

Office of the Chief Minister's Public Relations Officer, Government of Telangana

A Welfare State Like No Other, Key Achievements

44,82,254 people receive Aasara Pensions every month across ten categories. Rs.58,696 crore disbursed in nine years, compared to Rs.5,558 crore in ten years by the previous two governments in combined AP.
12,71,839 families received Kalyana Lakshmi or Shaadi Mubarak assistance of Rs.1,00,116 each for their daughter's wedding. Rs.11,130 crore spent. Child marriages, 56% before 2014, reduced substantially after the scheme's introduction.
13,90,636 mothers and newborns benefited from KCR Kit, with Rs.1,261.67 crore spent. Government hospital deliveries rose from 30% to 50% of all deliveries in the state.
KCR Nutrition Kit launched in 9 high-anaemia districts for pregnant women, the first scheme of its kind in India. To be extended to all 33 districts.
18,46,635 pregnant women and infants transported free of cost under Amma Vodi scheme, spending Rs.172.08 crore.
36,26,603 pregnant and lactating women received daily nutritious meals under Arogya Lakshmi at 100% of Anganwadi centres, up from 56% before statehood.
Anganwadi workers paid Rs.13,650 per month, the highest in the country. ASHA workers' pay increased from Rs.2,000 to Rs.9,750 per month.
The government allocated Rs.50,000 crore every year for welfare schemes, more than any other state in the country, implementing welfare programmes for every community including SC, ST, BC, minorities, Brahmins, journalists, lawyers, weavers and Singareni workers.