Srinagar: In a small two-room house on the outskirts of Srinagar, Sakina Khan (name changed) carefully folds a new embroidered shawl into a steel trunk. The fabric is modest, not extravagant, but for her family, it represents something they once feared they could no longer afford.
Sakina is preparing for her wedding later this year. Like thousands of other young women from economically weaker households in Kashmir, her marriage plans have been shaped not just by tradition, but by rising costs that have made weddings increasingly unaffordable.
Thanks to the State Marriage Assistance Scheme, which to some extent played a role in meeting her basic expenses.
“My parents were worried. Even basic things like clothes and household items have become so expensive. To some extent, this scheme is helpful to families. They manage the expenses of clothes and other items under this scheme,” she said.
Sakina is one of the beneficiaries of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s Marriage Assistance Scheme, which has seen a sharp surge in demand as marriage expenses climb steadily across the Valley.
Under the scheme, financial support for poor girls from Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) families has recently been enhanced from ₹50,000 to ₹75,000. Official data shows that the number of beneficiaries rose by 42 percent within a year.
From around 26,000 unmarried women seeking financial assistance in 2024–25, the figure jumped to 44,302 in 2025–26. As of December 2025, the scheme has cost the exchequer nearly ₹234 crore.
What has forced the underprivileged families to take support of this scheme is the rising cost of gold, clothes, and other miscellaneous items. Taking an example of gold, considered an essential part of Kashmiri weddings, has become one of the biggest financial hurdles. Prices have soared to over ₹1,36,000 per 10 grams, an increase of almost 40 percent over the last seven years.
“Because of the customs, people end up spending their life-long savings on marriage. The situation is such that families borrow loans from banks to buy gold,” said Ghulam Ahmad Bhat, whose daughter availed this scheme last year.
Recognising these pressures, the Jammu and Kashmir government last year eased eligibility conditions for the Marriage Assistance Scheme. The minimum educational qualification requirement of passing Class 8 has been relaxed for girls from economically weaker sections, with the exemption extended until March 31, 2028.
Officials said the applications for the scheme over the last few years have increased. “We have our officials deputed at the district level, who verify and forward the deserving cases regularly,” he said.