Palanhar Yojana Rajasthan: Form, Status, Eligibility 2026

📖What Is Palanhar Yojana

The scheme covers children from nine specific vulnerable categories. These categories include: orphan children with both parents deceased, children of HIV-positive parents, children of prisoners serving a life sentence or death sentence, children of women with leprosy, children of disabled parents with 40 percent or more disability, children of widowed mothers who have remarried (nata children), children of destitute widows, children of unwed mothers, and children from the Palanhar community whose parents have gone missing.

The scheme does not require the Palanhar to be a legal guardian in the formal sense. A grandmother, uncle, aunt, or older sibling who is taking care of the child can apply as the Palanhar.

Palanhars from scheduled caste, scheduled tribe, or backward community backgrounds are not given priority over others in terms of eligibility. The scheme is open to all communities as long as the child and the caregiver meet the specified eligibility conditions.

Children who are in the process of being legally adopted but not yet formally adopted may temporarily remain enrolled in Palanhar Yojana during the adoption proceedings. Once the adoption is legally finalised, the Palanhar benefit ceases and the child becomes the responsibility of the adoptive parents.

📌Other Things to Know About Palanhar Yojana

The Rajasthan government has linked the Palanhar Yojana database to the Shaala Darpan school attendance system. This integration helps the SJE department automatically verify school attendance data for children aged 6-18 without requiring the Palanhar to separately submit attendance certificates at every checkpoint.

Children who are enrolled in private schools are also eligible for the scheme, provided they meet all other eligibility conditions. The school enrollment certificate from a private school is accepted for the annual renewal, though the child's enrollment must be verifiable through school records.

For orphan children, both parents must be deceased and death certificates for both must be submitted at the time of application. The relationship between the child and the Palanhar caregiver must also be documented.

For children of HIV-positive parents, a certificate from a recognised government hospital confirming the parent's HIV status is required. The child may or may not be HIV-positive; it is the parent's status that determines category eligibility.

✅Who Is Eligible

The Palanhar receiving the benefit must be a relative within the family or a community member who has taken on the responsibility of raising the child. The scheme specifically aims to keep vulnerable children within their family or community rather than placing them in institutional care.

The family income of the Palanhar household must not exceed Rs 1,20,000 per year for the child to be eligible. If the Palanhar's income exceeds this limit, the child does not qualify for the scheme benefit regardless of the eligibility category.

The monthly benefit was revised in July 2023. Children aged 0 to 5 years now receive Rs 750 per month per child.

Children aged 6 to 18 years receive Rs 1,500 per month per child under the revised rates. Before this revision, the amounts were Rs 500 per month and Rs 1,000 per month respectively.

📋Palanhar Yojana: Benefits and Key Details

📋The Nine Child Categories

To apply for Palanhar Yojana, the caregiver must be a resident of Rajasthan and must be taking care of a child who belongs to one of the nine eligible categories. The caregiver's family annual income must not exceed Rs 1,20,000.

In addition to the monthly amount, most eligible children receive an annual grant of Rs 2,000 for clothing and other expenses. Children in the widow and nata categories are currently not entitled to this annual grant, but all other categories receive it.

A child who drops out of school after age 6 becomes ineligible for the monthly payment until re-enrollment is confirmed. The school enrollment requirement is verified each year as part of the annual renewal process.

Children aged 0 to 5 who are enrolled in an Aaganwadi centre qualify for the benefit from that age. The Aaganwadi enrollment certificate serves as the required proof of attendance for this age group.

💡The Income and School Rules

Children enrolled in the scheme must be attending school from age 6 onwards. The Palanhar is required to submit proof of school enrollment annually to continue receiving the monthly benefit.

The benefit is paid directly into the Palanhar's bank account through the DBT system. The Palanhar must have a bank account linked to their Jan Aadhaar number for the payment to be credited.

Any mismatch between the bank account details and the Jan Aadhaar record may cause payment delays. Palanhars should ensure their bank account is correctly linked and updated before the application is processed.

A document linking the caregiver to the child is required at the time of application. This can be a family tree certificate, a birth certificate showing the relationship, or a community-level verification letter from the gram panchayat.

📝How to Apply

Palanhars who face difficulty with the application process can visit the nearest e-Mitra kiosk, where operators are trained to assist with filling and submitting the application form and uploading the supporting documents online.

The official application form for Palanhar Yojana is Form 2013, available on the SJE department website at sje.rajasthan.gov.in. Submitting an old or unofficial form may result in processing delays, so candidates should always download the current version from the official site.

Palanhar Yojana is one of the most important child welfare schemes in Rajasthan because it addresses the situation of children who are otherwise at risk of being sent to orphanages or living without stable financial support. The scheme has supported lakhs of children across the state since its launch.

The scheme is distinct from old-age pension schemes or widows' pension schemes in Rajasthan. Palanhar Yojana is specifically for the benefit of the child through the caregiver, not for the personal maintenance of the adult caregiver.

🔎Checking Payment Status

The Jan Soochna Portal at jansoochna.rajasthan.gov.in allows Palanhars to check payment status, see the payment history for their enrolled children, and verify whether the annual renewal has been processed. This portal is the most reliable public channel for checking the current payment status.

If the monthly payment stops or is not received for two or more months, the Palanhar should first check whether the annual renewal was submitted on time and whether the bank account details are correct. If both are in order, they should contact the district SJE office or call the helpline at 1800-180-6127.

There is no extension or continuation of the Palanhar benefit beyond age 18. The Palanhar and child should plan for this transition well before the child approaches the age limit.

The scheme operates through the Social Justice and Empowerment Management System portal at sjmsnew.rajasthan.gov.in/palanhaar/. New applications and renewal submissions are processed through this portal and through the offline route via district SJE offices.

🔄Renewal and Ageing Out at 18

Children who turn 18 age out of the scheme automatically. The benefit terminates when the child reaches 18 years of age.

Palanhar applications are verified at the district level by the District Social Justice and Empowerment Officer. The officer reviews the submitted documents, confirms the child's category eligibility, and approves the enrolment into the scheme's payment cycle.

Palanhar Yojana operates on a trust-based model where the government relies on accurate reporting by the caregiver. The annual renewal requirement serves as a regular checkpoint to confirm that the child is still living with the Palanhar, still attending school, and still within the eligible age bracket.

The scheme was originally launched to reduce institutional placements of vulnerable children and keep them within their extended families. Studies have shown that children raised within families have better developmental outcomes than those raised in state institutions, which is the core rationale behind the Palanhar model.

Palanhar Yojana keeps vulnerable children in the warmth of family rather than the walls of an institution. The Rs 1,500 monthly support for a school-going child, combined with the annual Rs 2,000 clothing grant, gives a caregiver in a low-income household the means to raise that child with dignity.

📋Multiple Children and Other Schemes

A single Palanhar may be registered for more than one child if multiple eligible children are under their care. The monthly benefit is paid separately for each enrolled child, so a Palanhar caring for two eligible children receives the monthly amount multiplied by the number of children.

If a child is also receiving a scholarship or benefit from another scheme, that does not affect eligibility for Palanhar Yojana. The scheme is specifically for the child's basic maintenance and does not count against income from other targeted programmes.

Rajasthan's Social Justice and Empowerment Department also runs a monitoring mechanism to identify Palanhars who may have stopped caring for the enrolled children without informing the department. Periodic field visits by district welfare workers help verify that benefits are reaching the intended children.

The Palanhar Yojana is administered separately from the state's Anath Pension Yojana, which provides a fixed monthly pension for orphaned children above 18 years of age. The two schemes complement each other: Palanhar covers the years 0 to 18, and Anath Pension provides support after the child transitions out of Palanhar coverage.

📑Palanhar Yojana: Quick Reference

❓Frequently Asked Questions