Kalyana Lakshmi and Shaadi Mubarak: Telangana marriage aid

If a daughter in your family is getting married and you live in Telangana, the state gives a one-time grant of Rs 1,00,116 to help with the wedding. Kalyana Lakshmi covers SC, ST, BC and EBC brides, and Shaadi Mubarak covers Muslim brides. The money is paid by DBT into the bank account of the bride's mother. You apply online on the Telangana ePASS portal around the time of the marriage.

Read this box first. If your family fits every row, you can apply.

The Rs 2 lakh income cap is for SC, ST and urban BC or EBC families. For rural BC and EBC families the limit is Rs 1.5 lakh a year, as listed on the Medak district scheme page and the Suryapet district page. The bride must have completed 18 years of age at the time of marriage. By law a groom in India must be at least 21, so the wedding itself must be a legal marriage.

Tip: A bride with a disability gets a higher grant of Rs 1,25,145, irrespective of caste. This is set out in G.O.Ms.No.4 of the Backward Classes Welfare Department, dated 29 June 2019, under Section 24 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016. You can read the order on the Telangana welfare GO page.

Both schemes give the same Rs 1,00,116. They are really one programme with two names, split by the community of the bride. The same G.O.Ms.No.4 confirms the grant goes to every bride of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, Backward Classes and Economically Backward Classes on her marriage.

1. Kalyana Lakshmi is for brides from SC, ST, BC and EBC families. If the bride belongs to a Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Backward Class or an Economically Backward Class, this is your scheme.
2. Shaadi Mubarak is for brides from the Muslim community, run through the Minorities Welfare Department. The Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district page lists Shaadi Mubarak for Muslim brides and Kalyana Lakshmi for SC, ST, BC and EBC brides.

You do not choose between them. Your caste or community and your income decide which one applies, and both are filed on the same ePASS portal.

The application is online. Keep your papers scanned and ready before you start.

1. Get the marriage registered and keep the marriage certificate handy. The scheme is applied for around the time of the marriage, so do not wait long after the wedding.
2. Collect the income certificate, the caste certificate for Kalyana Lakshmi, Aadhaar of the bride, her mother and the groom, and the mother's bank passbook.
3. Open the Telangana ePASS portal and go to the Kalyana Lakshmi or Shaadi Mubarak link.
4. Fill the online form with the bride, groom and family details, and upload each document.
5. Submit the form and save the application number. You will need it to track status.
6. The district welfare officer verifies your details and sanctions the grant. After sanction it is credited by DBT to the mother's bank account.

Log back into the ePASS portal and open the Kalyana Lakshmi or Shaadi Mubarak status link, then enter your application number to see the stage. You can also ask the district welfare office that handles your community, that is BC, SC, ST or Minorities Welfare, for the file status. Keep your application number and the officer's name written down each time you visit.

If weeks pass with no update, you have a right to ask why in writing. A short RTI to the district welfare office can pull out the file notings and the reason for delay. Our guide on how to file an RTI in Telangana shows the exact address and fee, and The RTI Playbook walks you through drafting the letter.

The district pages describe the process but do not print one fixed upload list, so confirm the exact set on the portal before you submit. In practice families are asked for these.

1. Marriage certificate or proof of the registered marriage.
2. Age proof of the bride showing she is 18 or older, and age proof of the groom.
3. Income certificate of the parents. You can check your income certificate status if it is still being processed.
4. Caste certificate of the bride, needed for Kalyana Lakshmi.
5. Aadhaar of the bride, her mother and the groom.
6. The mother's bank passbook, with the account linked to Aadhaar for DBT.
7. Passport-size photographs of the bride and groom.

Most rejections come from simple, avoidable gaps. Check each one before you apply.

1. Income above the cap. If the parents combined yearly income crosses Rs 2 lakh, or Rs 1.5 lakh for a rural BC or EBC family, the application fails.
2. Bride under 18 or marriage not registered. The bride must have completed 18 years, and the marriage must be a genuine registered one.
3. Missing caste certificate. Kalyana Lakshmi needs a valid caste certificate for the bride. A missing or expired one stalls the file.
4. Bank or Aadhaar mismatch. If the mother's account is not linked to Aadhaar, or the bank details are wrong, the DBT payment cannot go through.
5. Applying too late. The grant is tied to the marriage. File as soon as the marriage is registered rather than months later, and confirm the current closing window on the portal.
6. Crossing the per-family limit. The scheme is meant to help a limited number of daughters in one family. Confirm the current per-family limit on the portal or at the district office before a second or third claim.

It is a one-time payment of Rs 1,00,116 for an eligible bride. A bride with a disability gets Rs 1,25,145. Both figures are confirmed by G.O.Ms.No.4 dated 29 June 2019 and by the district scheme pages.

The grant is paid by direct benefit transfer into the bank account of the bride's mother, as stated on the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district scheme page. So the mother's account should be active and linked to Aadhaar before you apply.

The scheme is meant to support daughters of an eligible family, but the official district pages do not print a fixed per-family number. Confirm the current limit on the ePASS portal or with your district welfare office before filing for a second daughter.

The scheme pages describe it as help given at the time of marriage, and different sources quote different windows, so no single deadline is printed on the official district pages. The safe step is to apply as soon as the marriage is registered and to check the exact closing date on the ePASS portal.

First check the status on ePASS with your application number and fix any document gap. If there is still no answer, file an RTI with the district welfare office to get the file notings and the reason for delay in writing. This often moves a stalled sanction.