Annapurna Bhandar: How to Log In & Apply Online

What You'll Learn in This Guide

• ✓ What Annapurna Bhandar / Annapurna Yojana is and how it replaced Lakshmir Bhandar in West Bengal.
• ✓ How to login to socialsecurity.wb.gov.in and register as a new applicant from 1 June 2026.
• ✓ Complete eligibility criteria, required documents list, and monthly payment details.
• ✓ How existing Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries can track their migration status on the portal.

The Annapurna Bhandar Yojana (officially notified as Annapurna Yojana as of 19 May 2026) is West Bengal's newest and largest women's financial assistance programme. Launched under the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare, the scheme officially replaces the existing Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme and doubles the monthly benefit from ₹1,500/₹1,700 to ₹3,000 per month. The scheme comes into effect from 1 June 2026 and is open to all eligible women across the state's 22 districts.

The official portal — socialsecurity.wb.gov.in — is architecturally designed and maintained by National Informatics Centre (NIC). Content, data, processes, and operations are owned and maintained by the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare. The portal provides a unified interface for new online registration, beneficiary status tracking, application updates, DBT payment monitoring, and password management for all social security programmes in West Bengal.

The scheme was formally approved by the West Bengal Cabinet on 11 May 2026 and the official government notification was issued on 19 May 2026 by the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare. All District Magistrates of the 22 districts and the Commissioner of Kolkata Municipal Corporation were directed to complete the verification of approved beneficiaries by 25 May 2026 before the launch.

Eligibility Criteria — Who Can Apply

To qualify for the Annapurna Bhandar Yojana, applicants must meet the following criteria:

Step‑by‑Step Login Process on socialsecurity.wb.gov.in

Here is how you can access and use the socialsecurity.wb.gov.in portal for the Annapurna Bhandar scheme:

1. Open socialsecurity.wb.gov.in in your browser. Note: The site may be temporarily unavailable during scheduled maintenance.
2. Click the Login / Applicant Login link on the homepage. You will be redirected to the beneficiary login interface.
3. Enter your registered Aadhaar-linked mobile number as your username.
4. Enter your password. If you have not set up an account yet, click 'Create Account' or 'Register' to sign up using your Aadhaar-seeded details.
5. For new online applications, the application facility goes live from 1 June 2026 (Notification dated 19 May 2026). Check back on or after that date.
6. Once logged in, use the dashboard to: — Check Application Status using Aadhaar number or Application ID — View Payment Status / DBT History — Reset Password via the 'Forgot Password' option — Update bank account details if Aadhaar is not yet linked

For password recovery, use the Forgot Password feature at socialsecurity.wb.gov.in/forget-password by entering your registered mobile number or Aadhaar number. The system will send an OTP to your registered number for verification.

Documents Required for Annapurna Bhandar Registration

While the final official document list has been confirmed by the West Bengal government as part of the 19 May 2026 notification, applicants should have these essential documents ready before logging in to the portal:

Existing Lakshmir Bhandar Beneficiaries — No Fresh Application Needed

A major update for all current Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme beneficiaries: the WB government has confirmed that all existing beneficiaries will be automatically migrated to the Annapurna Yojana at the enhanced ₹3,000 monthly rate. You do not need to fill out a new application on socialsecurity.wb.gov.in.

However, you must be aware of the following nuances: Existing Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries who are migrating to Annapurna won't face any change in eligibility requirements — the age range stays the same at 25 to 60, and DBT payments continue flowing to Aadhaar‑linked bank accounts as before. After migration, the monthly amount increases from ₹1,500 or ₹1,700 to ₹3,000, and beneficiaries gain access to the new North 24 Parganas portal for direct account management. The only exceptions are those excluded due to death, relocation, removal from voter rolls, or being flagged as absentee electors during the SIR‑2026 survey. DBT payments to beneficiaries are expected to begin by 1 June 2026 pending DBT.

August 2026 update: the portal went live on schedule and, as of August, three monthly cycles have been completed — the first ₹3,000 credits arrived in the first week of June and August-cycle payments were processed in the first 10 days of the month. The migration of Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries was mostly automatic as promised, but the June-July experience showed that unpaid beneficiaries are almost always blocked by NPCI mapper issues — 'Inactive' Aadhaar-bank status, B06 name mismatches, or Aadhaar seeded to an old Jan Dhan, Gramin or dormant account. Banks including SBI, UBI, Bank of India, Bandhan and PNB now verify seeding instantly at the counter via NPCI's AePS-based check and maintain dedicated B06/mapping-fix counters. If your ₹3,000 has not arrived, log in to the portal and check your payment status first, then check 'Aadhaar Mapped Status' on the BASE portal — de-seeding from an old bank takes a full 7 working days. The application window closes August 25, 2026.