Tripura prevented 9,992 child marriages during FY 2025-26 through awareness campaigns and welfare schemes, Social Welfare Minister Tinku Roy said. The government expanded support for girl children, persons with disabilities, and Anganwadi modernization while launching special camps to ensure wider access to welfare benefits.
The Tripura government has significantly intensified its efforts to combat child marriage through a combination of awareness campaigns, welfare schemes, and administrative interventions, leading to the prevention of 9,992 child marriages during the 2025-26 financial year. Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Tinku Roy shared the information during a press conference held at the Civil Secretariat in Agartala on Tuesday.
Addressing media personnel, the Minister highlighted a series of welfare initiatives implemented by the state government over the past financial year. These initiatives focus on preventing child marriage, supporting girl children, empowering persons with disabilities, and modernizing Anganwadi centres across Tripura.
Roy said that while the government does not possess complete records of every child marriage occurring in the state, it maintains detailed records of cases where authorities successfully intervened and prevented such marriages. According to him, coordinated efforts involving Block Development Officers (BDOs), panchayat representatives, local administrations, Child Welfare Committees, and social organizations have played a critical role in reducing the prevalence of child marriage.
“The awareness campaigns conducted at the grassroots level have yielded encouraging results. We are witnessing a gradual decline in child marriage cases, and we believe this trend will continue through sustained awareness and welfare interventions,” Roy said.
The Minister acknowledged that certain border areas of the state, particularly Sonamura and Kailashahar subdivisions, continue to report comparatively higher instances of child marriage. He attributed the issue largely to social and cultural factors prevailing within certain communities. However, he emphasized that the government remains committed to addressing these challenges through targeted awareness programmes and community engagement.
As part of the state’s strategy to reduce child marriage, Roy highlighted two major welfare schemes launched during the 2025-26 financial year.
One of the flagship initiatives is the Mukhyamantri Kanya Bibah Yojana, introduced specifically to discourage child marriage and support economically weaker families. Under the scheme, daughters belonging to Antyodaya families become eligible for financial assistance of ₹50,000 upon attaining 18 years of age for marriage-related expenses.
The Minister informed that since the launch of the scheme in October 2025, a total of 45 beneficiaries have already received financial support.
Another significant programme is the Mukhyamantri Balika Samriddhi Yojana, aimed at ensuring financial security for girl children born into Antyodaya families. Under this scheme, the government deposits ₹50,000 as a fixed deposit in the name of a newborn girl child. The amount becomes accessible after the beneficiary turns 18 and can be utilized for higher education or marriage-related expenses.
According to Roy, 105 beneficiaries have already received assistance under this scheme. He appealed to media organizations and local stakeholders to spread awareness about the programme so that more eligible families can take advantage of its benefits.
Apart from initiatives for girl children, the Minister also highlighted several welfare programmes for persons with disabilities.
Under the Chief Minister’s Scheme for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, 3,492 beneficiaries are currently receiving a monthly financial assistance of ₹5,000. Additionally, around 20,027 persons with disabilities are benefiting from another welfare programme that provides monthly assistance of ₹2,000.
“These welfare measures are designed to ensure social security and dignity for persons with disabilities and their families,” Roy stated.
The Minister also outlined major achievements in the modernization of Anganwadi centres across the state. He announced that 100 urban Anganwadi centres located in Agartala, Udaipur, Dharmanagar, and Kailashahar have been upgraded into English-medium centres equipped with improved facilities.
Further strengthening the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) infrastructure, the state government has already converted 562 Anganwadi centres into ‘Saksham Anganwadi’ centres. Proposals have also been prepared for upgrading an additional 640 centres in the coming phases.
Roy revealed that electricity connections have been provided to 3,559 Anganwadi centres, and efforts are ongoing to ensure complete electrification of all centres across the state.
He also highlighted progress achieved under the PM-JANMAN scheme. As part of the initiative, 226 new Anganwadi centres have been established in tribal and Bru settlement areas to improve access to early childhood care and nutrition services. Of these, construction work for 126 centres has already been completed.
The Minister also addressed concerns regarding delays in the disbursement of honorarium payments to Anganwadi workers. He clarified that the delays occurred due to changes in the Central Government’s fund release mechanism but assured that the issue has now been resolved.
“Honorarium payments will be released regularly from the first week of every month,” he said.
Roy further informed that Anganwadi workers receive several additional incentives apart from their monthly honorarium. According to departmental records, workers received approximately ₹19,185 during the 2025-26 financial year as incentives for various activities, including mobile recharge support, travel allowances, festival grants, and other performance-related benefits.
An additional ₹51,632 was also provided for the purchase of materials and operational requirements of Anganwadi centres.
The Minister claimed that Tripura currently provides a comparatively higher honorarium to Anganwadi workers than many other states in the country.
“Anganwadi workers in Tripura receive around ₹10,400 per month, whereas workers in several larger states receive lower honorariums,” Roy said while citing examples such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Odisha.
At the same time, he acknowledged the government’s desire to further enhance honorarium payments in the future, although financial limitations remain a significant challenge.
To ensure wider access to welfare schemes, Roy announced that special administrative camps would be organized across Tripura on June 14, 15, and 16. These camps will help eligible beneficiaries apply for and receive benefits under various government programmes.
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The Minister expressed optimism that the combined impact of awareness campaigns, financial assistance schemes, social welfare initiatives, and grassroots administrative efforts would continue to improve social indicators across Tripura while significantly reducing the incidence of child marriage in the years ahead.
Special Secretary of the Social Welfare and Social Education Department Tapan Kr Das and Director L Ranchal were also present during the press conference.
