Welfare and Relief for Fishermen during Lean Season and Natural Calamities Scheme, 2023
On the days the sea gives no catch — the lean months, the yearly fishing ban, or after a cyclone — a Puducherry fishing family in the BPL list gets fixed cash help: ₹6,000 in the lean season, up to ₹8,000 during a ban, plus free rice and a clothing set after a calamity.
Run by: Department of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, Government of Puducherry
- Lean-season help
- ₹6,000 / family
- Fishing-ban relief
- ₹4,000–₹8,000
- After a calamity
- 5 kg rice + clothing set
- Families covered
- About 2,000 a year
Overview
A fishing family earns nothing on the days it cannot go to sea. Every year there is a lean stretch when fish are scarce, a long government ban on the east coast that lets fish breed, and the risk that a cyclone or rough sea damages boats and nets. Puducherry runs one welfare scheme, first notified in 2023 and amended since, that pays a fixed relief for all three situations so the family can still buy food and daily essentials during the no-income days.
The lean-season assistance was raised to ₹6,000 per family by a notification dated 30 March 2025 (it was ₹3,000 before that). For the yearly fishing-ban period the relief is worked out on a per-day basis — recent government orders put it at about ₹4,000 for a 47-day ban and ₹8,000 for a 61-day ban. When a natural calamity strikes, the affected family also gets 5 kg of rice free and a clothing set (a saree with blouse piece, a lungi and a towel). The money is sent straight to the bank account by electronic transfer.
Around 2,000 fishing families across the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions draw this relief each year. An earlier rule that blocked the help if a family member received the old-age pension has been removed, so a pensioner household is no longer left out. The amounts are revised from time to time, so check the current figure and the payment window with your regional Fisheries office or your fishermen co-operative society before counting on it.
What you get
The benefit as the state notifies it — nothing here is an estimate.
- Lean-season cash assistance of ₹6,000 per fishing family, paid in the stretch when fish are scarce and boats stay ashore.
- Fishing-ban relief for the yearly east-coast breeding ban — recent government orders put it at roughly ₹4,000 for a 47-day ban and ₹8,000 for a 61-day ban, worked out on a per-day rate.
- Natural-calamity relief: 5 kg of rice free plus a clothing set (saree with blouse piece, lungi and towel) for a family hit by a cyclone or rough sea.
- Relief is credited straight to the bank account by electronic transfer, so there is no cash to collect in person.
- Households where a member draws the old-age pension are now included — the earlier bar on them has been dropped.
Who is eligible
State schemes usually state their criteria as prose rather than a checklist. This is that prose, unpacked — the department’s verification is what decides.
You qualify if
- Ordinarily a resident of the Union Territory of Puducherry (covers the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions)
- Works as a fisherman — usually a member of a fishermen co-operative society and holding the fisher identity card
- The family is on the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list
- Did not stay abroad during the lean season, ban period or calamity being claimed for
- Actually observed the fishing ban — a boat that went to sea during a notified ban is not eligible for that period
Not covered
- Families not on the BPL list
- Anyone who was outside the country during the period being claimed for
- Boat owners or crew who fished during a notified ban period, for that period
- People who are not ordinarily resident in the Union Territory of Puducherry
Documents you need
Have these ready before you start — most rejections are a missing paper, not a missing right.
- Ration card showing BPL status
- Fisher identity card or fishermen co-operative society membership certificate
- Aadhaar card
- Bank passbook first page (the account for the transfer)
- Residence proof for the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam region
How to apply
Fewer steps than a central scheme, and usually one office rather than a portal.
- 1
Stay an active member of the fishermen co-operative society
Join and keep up membership of your local fishermen co-operative society, and keep your fisher identity card current — the relief list is drawn up through the society and the regional Fisheries office.
- 2
Verification before each payment cycle
Before the lean season, before the ban period, or after a calamity, the Fisheries department checks the BPL list, society membership and residence, and prepares the eligible-beneficiary list, which is published region-wise on the department website.
- 3
Relief credited to the bank account
The fixed amount for that situation — lean season, ban or calamity — is transferred electronically to the verified bank account. Calamity cases also receive the free rice and the clothing set.
If something goes wrong
Missing from the list, or payment stuck — here is the channel the department itself publishes for it.
- If your name is missing from the region-wise eligible list, or a payment has not reached your account for a period you observed the ban, first take it up with your fishermen co-operative society and the Sub-Inspector of Fisheries, then the Assistant / Deputy Director at your regional Fisheries office (Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam) and the Director of Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare.
- If it stays unresolved, it can be raised at the District Collector's grievance cell or on CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in), the central grievance portal the UT routes grievances through.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get both the lean-season help and the fishing-ban relief in the same year?
Yes. They cover different periods — the lean stretch when fish are scarce, and the separate notified breeding ban — so an eligible family can receive each one for its own period in the same year.
My father gets the old-age pension. Are we still eligible?
Yes. The earlier rule that denied this relief to a family with an old-age pensioner has been removed, so a pensioner household is now covered like any other eligible family.
Is the ban-period amount always ₹8,000?
It depends on how many days the ban runs. Recent government orders work out to about ₹4,000 for a 47-day ban and ₹8,000 for a 61-day ban. As the amounts are revised from time to time, confirm the current rate with your regional Fisheries office.
Do I have to be on the BPL list?
Yes. This relief is for BPL fishing families. A family not on the Below Poverty Line list is not eligible, even if it holds a fisher identity card.
What if my boat went out during the ban?
A boat that fished during a notified ban is not eligible for the ban-period relief for that period — the relief is for families that actually stayed ashore.
How do I get on the list — is there a form each time?
The eligible list is drawn up through your fishermen co-operative society and the regional Fisheries office before each payment cycle, checking BPL status, society membership and residence. Keeping your society membership and fisher identity card current is what keeps you on it.
Facts checked against fisheries.py.gov.in on 8 September 2026. editorial policy.