National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS)

The Government of Punjab has initiated the scheme entitled “National Family Benefit Scheme” to provide financial help to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the event of the death of the only earning member of the family. Under this scheme, the Government will provide a one-time lump sum assistance of INR 20,000/- to the bereaved household in the form of compensation. In this article, we look at the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) in detail.

To know about National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP)

Eligibility Criteria

The below following are the eligibility criteria required to apply for the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS):

Applicant family should belong to the Below Poverty Line (BPL).
Any event of death, whether it's natural or otherwise would make the family eligible to apply for the scheme.
If the family lives in the urban areas, then the total income of the whole family must not exceed INR 56,000, and the income of the applicant household under the rural areas must not exceed INR 46,000.
The death benefit scheme will be given only to those families whose head is between 18 to 60 years.
In case 15 of the death of an unmarried adult, the term household would include minor brothers or sisters and dependent parents.
The family benefit will be paid to the household (includes spouse, minor children, unmarried daughter and dependent parents) of the deceased person after the local inquiry done by the government official.

Documents Required

The following are the documents that have to be produced at the time of registering for this scheme:

Identity Proof: PAN Card, Aadhaar Card, Driving License, Voter ID Card, etc.
Address Proof: Aadhar Card, Valid Passport, Utility bill, Property tax bill, etc.
Death certificate of the bread earner
Applicant's Passport Size Photo
Income certificate is mandatory
Bank Account Details
Self-declaration document from the applicant

Online Application Procedure

To apply for the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), the applicant has to follow the below procedure:

Step 1: The applicant must go to the official state portal of Punjab, Department of Social Security.

Step 2: If new user, the applicant will have to click on the "New User" tab, else login with your credentials. While log in for the first time, the applicant will have to update their profile.

Step 4: Then, the applicant has to click on the "Fresh Application" link.

Step 5: Upon clicking on the link, all Department wise services are listed from which the applicant has to choose for the service to be applied.

Step 6: Then, the applicant has to click on the Online Form application section and then fill out all the requested details in the form.

Step 7: Then attach all the documents as specified above. Upon submission, the applicant will receive an acknowledgement for further reference.

Offline Application Procedure

The National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) can be applied by providing the information of the persons to fill up the applications who are ready to avail the benefits of this scheme. The applicants will have to fill the National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) e-Form in offline mode and submit it to the processing office. The application form for the NFBS can be downloaded from the official site. It is reproduced below for your ready reference:

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Then the respective department will make the verification process and prepare the beneficiary list. The concerned District Social Welfare Office will scrutinise the application form, and if required, the applicant will be called for the verification process. If sanctioned, the assistance is remitted monthly to the bank account of the beneficiary. Note: As a part of NSAP, different schemes are being implemented. To know about the schemes implemented under the National Social Assistance Programme, click on the below following links:

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about National Family Benefit Scheme Punjab.

The National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) is a scheme initiated by the Government of Punjab to provide financial assistance of INR 20,000 to families below the poverty line (BPL) in the event of the death of the sole earning member of the family.

The eligibility criteria for the NFBS are: the applicant family must belong to the BPL category, the family's total income should not exceed INR 56,000 for urban areas and INR 46,000 for rural areas, the deceased member should have been between 18 and 60 years of age, and the benefit will be paid to the household (spouse, minor children, unmarried daughters, and dependent parents) of the deceased person.

The documents required for the NFBS application include identity proof (PAN card, Aadhaar card, driving license, voter ID), address proof (Aadhaar card, passport, utility bill, property tax bill), death certificate of the deceased earning member, applicant's passport-sized photo, income certificate, bank account details, and a self-declaration document from the applicant.

To apply for the NFBS online, you need to visit the official state portal of Punjab, Department of Social Security. If you are a new user, create an account, update your profile, click on the "Fresh Application" link, choose the NFBS service, fill out the online form, attach the required documents, and submit the application.

Yes, you can also apply for the NFBS offline by downloading the application form from the official website, filling it out, and submitting it to the processing office. The respective department will then verify the application and prepare the beneficiary list.

The article does not specify the exact time frame for receiving the NFBS benefit after submitting the application. However, it mentions that the concerned District Social Welfare Office will scrutinize the application form, and if sanctioned, the assistance will be remitted monthly to the beneficiary's bank account.

According to the article, the NFBS provides a one-time lump sum assistance of INR 20,000 to the bereaved household in the form of compensation.

The purpose of the NFBS is to provide financial help to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the event of the death of the only earning member of the family, to support the household during the financial crisis caused by the loss of the primary income source.

The article specifically mentions that the NFBS is a scheme initiated by the Government of Punjab. It does not provide information about the availability of a similar scheme in other states.

No, the NFBS benefit can only be claimed for the death of the sole earning member of the family, who falls between the age group of 18 to 60 years. The article does not mention the eligibility for claiming the benefit in case of the death of other family members.