Ladki Behan Yojana | 9 states spending Rs 1 lakh-cr on cash transfer for women in FY25

Also called the ‘Ladki Behan Yojana,’ the scheme provides a monthly stipend of Rs 1,500 to eligible women in the age group of 21-65 years through direct bank transfer (DBT). The Mahayuti 1.0 government, led by Eknath Shinde, has already disbursed three instalments to over two crore women in the state and had promised to increase the amount to Rs 2,100 per month if it is elected to power.

Women, as hoped by the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde), and NCP (Ajit Pawar) alliance, played a defining role in the Mahayuti’s win. While around 3.06 crore women voted in the polls, they outnumbered male voters in at least 15 of the state’s 288 Assembly constituencies.

Also read: How 'Ladli Behna' scheme helped BJP-led Mahayuti retain power in Maharashtra

But not just Maharashtra, at least 13 other states have already implemented cash transfer schemes for women. A report by PRS Legislative has pegged the cumulative cost of these schemes in nine states at Rs 1 lakh-crore for the 2024-25 fiscal. These states are Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

Who promises what?

While Karnataka’s ‘Gruhalakshmi’ scheme promises the maximum cash benefit at Rs 2,000 per month, it is followed by Maharashtra’s Ladki Behan Yojana at Rs 1,500 per month.

While Assam through its ‘Orunondoi’ scheme and Madhya Pradesh through the ‘Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana’ are providing a monthly stipend of Rs 1,250 to beneficiaries, Rs 1,000 is being provided by the states of Chhattisgarh (Mahtari Vandan Yojana), Delhi (Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana), and Tamil Nadu (Magalir Urimai Thogai) to eligible beneficiaries.

While the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal is providing a monthly cash transfer of Rs 1,000 to 1,200 to women through the ‘Lakshmir Bhandar’ scheme, the newly-formed BJP government in Odisha has launched the ‘Subhadra Yojana’ under which beneficiaries have been promised Rs 833 in their bank accounts every month.

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Among the nine states, Karnataka has the highest allocation at Rs 28,608 crore for its scheme in 2024-25. It is followed by Madhya Pradesh (18,984 crore), West Bengal (Rs 14,400 crore), and Tamil Nadu (13,720 crore). While Odisha and Maharashtra have set aside 10,000 crore each, the allocation made by Assam, Chhattisgarh and Delhi are Rs 3,800 crore, Rs 3,000 crore and Rs 2,000 crore respectively.

Effective poll instrument

The model is being replicated by many other states, mostly before polls, to woo women voters.

Ahead of the recently-conducted Assembly polls in Jharkhand, the JMM government launched the Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana (in August), offering monetary assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to eligible beneficiaries.

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Himachal too is in the process of rolling out a similar scheme in a phased manner while such schemes are part of poll promises of the current governments in Punjab, Haryana and Telangana, the PRS report said.

Who are the beneficiaries?

“These schemes primarily target women belonging to lower income households. Beneficiaries are identified mainly based on income and age thresholds. States generally exclude government employees, income tax payees, and professionals from coverage under the schemes,” the PRS report said.

The eligibility criteria, however, differ from state to state.

For instance, the beneficiaries of Maharashtra’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana are married, divorced, widowed, deserted and destitute women with a family income below Rs 2.5 lakh. Only domiciles can avail the scheme.

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In Karnataka, only women recognised as family heads in the Antyodaya, BPL or APL ration cards issued by the government, are eligible for the benefits of the Congress government’s Gruhalakshmi scheme.

West Bengal’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, however, assures direct cash transfer to women in the age group of 25-60 years in all rural and urban households which in turn are enrolled under ‘Swasthyasathi’.

More states join DBT race

According to the PRS report, the number of states implementing such cash transfers has increased over the last two years. Of the nine states mentioned in the report, only Assam and West Bengal had such schemes in 2022-23 while the others rolled their respective schemes later.

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“As per 2024-25 budget estimates, Karnataka is estimated to spend about Rs 28,000 crore on such cash transfers. Maharashtra had allocated Rs 10,000 crore in the budget for the scheme. Annually it is estimated to cost around Rs 46,000 crore,” the report says.

How do these schemes benefit women?

The PRS report says that implementing unconditional cash transfer schemes can help improve consumption capacity of the beneficiaries.

“A study sponsored by the West Bengal government found that the beneficiaries of Lakshmir Bhandar in the state spent their allowances on household expenses, education, medical expenses, and investing in small business ventures,” it says.

It adds that cash transfers can also help in reducing the severity of poverty among women and enable them to improve nutritional status for themselves and their families.