Sthree Suraksha Scheme Launched: Kerala To Provide Monthly Pension For Unemployed Women

The Kerala government has recently launched the Sthree Suraksha Scheme, a social security initiative that provides a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to unemployed women and transgender women in the state. The application window began on December 22, 2025. Since the process is now live, the scheme is expected to offer steady financial support to women who fall outside of any such assistance and welfare schemes that are linked to employment.

The Sthree Suraksha Scheme has been designed as a safety net for women who remain economically vulnerable despite Kerala’s strong social indicators. Many women in the age bracket of 35-60 are neither formally employed nor eligible for pension schemes, widow schemes, or disability assistance. For them, even a modest income stream can ease their daily financial stress. The monthly assistance under this scheme is intended to help cover essential expenses that might fall outside of their financial resources. This helps them be a bit more flexible in their expenditure.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility under the scheme is particularly narrow and refined to ensure that people who genuinely require it can avail themselves of it.

• Applicants must be permanent residents of Kerala.

• Fall in the age bracket of 35 to 60 years.

• They must be unemployed, and that also means avoiding contractual work.

The scheme also excludes women who receive any form of pension, be it old-age pensions, disability assistance, family pension, or Employees’ Provident Fund pension (EPF) or any other welfare pensions provided by the State or the Centre. This exclusion is just a way to ensure this scheme reaches those who need it and have no access to regular social security payments.

Economic vulnerability and lack of work opportunities are the criteria for this selection. Applicants must hold either an Antyodaya Anna Yojana ration card or a Priority Household ration card, which are the common documentation used by the state to identify low-income households. By linking eligibility to ration cards, the government can ensure that the amount released by them reaches women from financially weaker sections who have to depend on informal forms of work.

How To Apply

The application process is quite simple and straightforward to ensure more efficient participation. Eligible women can apply online through the KSmart portal of the Local Self-Government Department or submit applications directly at their respective panchayats, municipalities, or municipal corporations. Local body secretaries are responsible for accepting applications, verifying documents and forwarding eligible applications for approvals.

In the long run, this scheme is going to help women from financially weaker sections in making more independent choices. While the amount is modest, it is just an addition to the monthly income of these women.