No welfare benefits for men with more than one wife, proposes Assam

Published 10 July 2026 · india

The Assam Budget for 2026-27 has proposed that men practising polygamy will not be eligible for benefits under state-run welfare schemes, while government employees found

The Assam Budget for 2026-27 has proposed that men practising polygamy will not be eligible for benefits under state-run welfare schemes, while government employees found guilty of the practice will face dismissal. Presenting his maiden Budget on Friday, Finance Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said welfare measures should reach the deserving and also uphold "inclusivity, integrity and moral ethos" in society. Baruah also proposed that people convicted under any criminal law should be barred from benefits under notified government welfare schemes. Read Full Story Alongside these measures, he presented a Rs 2,85,084 crore Budget, proposed higher tax relief for small tea growers, a cut in VAT on piped natural gas, and said the government would continue all major schemes launched over the past five years while aiming to bring the budget deficit down to Rs 419 crore.

Announcing the welfare-linked proposal, Baruah said, "Speaker Sir, in order to promote women's empowerment and gender justice, any male practising polygamy shall not be eligible to avail benefits under any government welfare scheme." The Budget also proposed amending the Assam Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1964, so that any government servant found to have practised polygamy "shall be liable for dismissal from service, in accordance with law". He added, "To promote integrity and responsible citizenship, I propose that any person convicted of an offence under any criminal law shall not be eligible to avail benefits under notified government welfare schemes." Baruah said that as a regular Budget was not available during the election process, the government would resume its basket of welfare schemes from August onwards.

"The august House will appreciate the introduction of unprecedented basket of welfare schemes by our government covering various levels of beneficiaries. I propose to allocate over Rs 6,000 crore under different grants for these welfare schemes," he said. He also said all beneficiary-oriented schemes would be delivered through the unified digital beneficiary architecture under Digital Infrastructure for DBT Schemes (DIDS), including Aadhaar-based authentication. Along with these proposals, Baruah said the tax exemption limit for small tea growers would be raised fourfold and VAT on piped natural gas would be cut by almost 10 percentage points. In sum, the Budget combines fresh welfare conditions, changes in service rules, continued spending on existing schemes and tax measures as the government targets a lower deficit in 2026-27.