Often we take the entire burden of financial management upon us without seeking help from anyone. However, thorough research will reveal that there are plenty of government schemes that can actually help in personal financial management. The key point here is to create awareness about the schemes to avail it after checking whether one is eligible for it or not. The government-funded schemes and programs can remove a huge burden from you by providing you with help financially. Here is a list of a few schemes that you can look for to manage your finances.
1. Student Loan or Scholarship
Many times one wants to move abroad to pursue higher education. Few students also prefer to study in the same country while availing of some scholarships. Thankfully, all the government has schemes, loans and scholarships lined up for the brilliant students to ensure that their education does not suffer. For instance, the Student Loan Scheme for Education which was launched by the Government of Pakistan ensures interest-free loans to meritorious students who want to pursue their study in Scientific, Technical and Professional education within Pakistan. Such schemes and scholarships can be helpful to any student who is facing financial constraints but is looking forward to carrying on with their studies.
2. Investment in Provident Fund
Provident Fund refers to saving schemes that are managed by the government. In the Provident Fund, the citizen itself invests their money to benefit the interest accumulated over time later in their life. Most of the employees prefer investing in Provident Fund to get the lump sum amount once they retire from their job. The best part of the Provident Fund is that it exempts the beneficiary from paying any time of tax on it. Once retired, it is easy to avail the benefits easily through EPFO or other platforms without going to the office to manually handle the papers.
3. Government Housing Program
Many governments, especially Asian Governments, roll out affordable housing schemes for their citizens. The housing schemes are rolled out in a fashion that it considers all the different economic groups of the society. From high-end to low-end houses, the housing program of the government makes buying houses very affordable. However, these programs are not rolled out frequently and need to keep their eyes and ears open to grab the opportunity when such schemes are rolled out. The housing program mostly considers the homeless people, low-income group, middle-income group and high-income groups while designing these houses.
4. Ration Card Scheme
The Ration Card Scheme is highly prevalent in Pakistan and India that makes it possible for the eligible citizen to acquire food grains from the government at a very subsidized rate. Most of the beneficiaries of this scheme belong to Below Poverty Line. However, there are certain terms and conditions which also allow the citizens of Above Poverty Line to avail these facilities. Most of the states allow the citizen to apply for such schemes through online portals like UP Ration Card and such portals differ from state to state and country to country.
5. Schemes and Programs for Women and Girl Child
Gender inequality is prevalent both in developed and developing nations. One of the Sustainable Development Goals aims for Gender Equality and to succeed in this goal, many governments have rolled out schemes and programs that target women and girl children to create gender equality. For instance, Pakistan rolled out the Ehsaas Nash-o-Numa program to help mothers and their newborn babies. Similarly, India has programs like Beti Bachao and Beti Padhao and the National Scheme of Incentives to Girls for Secondary Education for promoting the education of the girl child. Walking on the same path, the United States of America has programs like Let Girls Learn to address the challenges faced by adolescent girls for succeeding in schools.
In addition to that, there are many other programs and schemes which can truly benefit in managing your finances better. It is recommended that a person keep checking the respective official website of such schemes to check whether they are eligible for certain programs or not. If one is eligible for extracting the benefits of government-funded schemes they should apply immediately to save some money which in turn, will also improve their financial management.
