Men, Govt Staff Among Beneficiaries for Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin Yojana; 92 Lakh Women Removed After CAG Flags Excess Spending

Key Points

MAHARASHTRA’S FLAGSHIP SCHEME, the Ladki Bahin Yojana, was posited as a welfare initiative meant to promote women’s economic independence by providing them with a monthly stipend. However, major discrepancies and flaws have emerged in the scheme’s implementation. After an audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India flagged excess spending of around Rs 3,541 crore over the allotted budget, a new report has revealed that around 92 lakh women were de-listed as the scheme’s beneficiaries after a state-wide revision exercise. This number, revealed by an Indian Express report, is significantly higher than the official figures given by the state government, which claimed that 80 lakhs beneficiaries were removed. 

Most of the beneficiaries, around 62 lakh, were removed because they failed to do the electronic verification process of Know Your Customer (eKYC). Others were de-listed and declared as ‘ineligible’ owing to several metrics — such as exceeding the scheme’s income ceiling, being government employees, were already receiving benefits under other welfare schemes, or were above the age limit.

What's an interesting fact to note is that nearly 29,000 men falsely registered themselves as women to avail the scheme’s benefits. Additionally, around 8,000 women who were in government service also received stipends under the scheme.

 Officials that conducted the revision exercise estimate that those who were de-listed collectively  received Rs 14,000 crores as stipend for 10 months before their payments were stopped.

See also: CAG Flags Irregularities in Odisha’s PM Poshan Scheme—More Mid-Day Meals than Students Highlights “High Risk” of Misappropriation

How Ladki Bahin Yojana Helped Mahayuti Alliance Win the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Election

The Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched by Devendra Fadnavis in June 2024, less than six months before the 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election. Political experts believe that the scheme’s implementation played a major role in electing the BJP-led Mahayuti into power. A report by The Hindu, based upon Centre for the Study of Developing Societies’ Lokniti survey, asserted that 39% of the women voters sided with the BJP because of the Ladki Bahin Yojana's stipend. The survey further says that 54% of women who applied for the scheme voted for the BJP alliance.

The Ladki Bahin Yojana provides eligible women aged between 21 - 65, whose yearly family income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh, with a monthly Rs 1,500 stipend. Those who are government employees, income tax payers, and beneficiaries of other welfare schemes are excluded to avail the scheme’s benefits.

At the time of the scheme’s implementation, 2.43 crore women were listed as beneficiaries. After the latest state-wide revision, the number has come down to 1.5 crore, an almost 38% decrease.

CAG Audit Report Flags Financial Irregularities in Ladki Bahin Yojana

In its audit of Maharashtra’s finances for 2024-25, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) flagged “significant deficiencies in budget estimation, expenditure control and financial management.” The report highlighted excess expenditure of around Rs 3,541 crore without any justification and parking of Rs 15,586 crore in government deposit accounts despite no immediate need for utilization. 

See also: CAG Flags ₹54,282 Crore in Unaccounted Expenditure by Centre—Persistent Accounting Irregularities and Weak Accountability Framework

Maharashtra’s Women and Child Development (WCD), under whose banner the scheme operates, remarked upon the findings and stated that the mandatory eKYC exercise could not begin immediately after the scheme’s launch because of the Assembly election schedule and the Model Code of Conduct.

In a statement given to Indian Express, WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare said:  “The scheme was launched in June 2024 and the first two instalments were released together in August 2024. After that there were Assembly elections in November 2024 and the Model Code of Conduct came into force before October, because of which the eKYC exercise could not be started earlier. We decided on the exercise in August 2025 after the new government came in place and repeatedly announced that payments of beneficiaries who did not complete eKYC would be stopped.”

Tatkare said the beneficiaries were given an appropriate window of time to complete their eKYC before their payments were stopped. She further said that the money that has been given to the ‘ineligible’ beneficiaries would not be recovered, except for those given to male beneficiaries and government staffers.

In an earlier statement given in the Maharashtra legislature assembly, Tatkare had assured that the recovery process of the given stipend has already been initiated. She remarked that district collectors have been directed to take necessary action against government employees, male beneficiaries, and other ineligible recipients identified during the verification exercise.

In 2025-26, the Maharashtra state government allocated Rs 36,000 crore for the Ladki Bahin Yojana. However, the allocation was significantly reduced in the next year, with Rs 26,500 crore allocated to the scheme for 2026-27. Further, during the assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance had promised to increase the stipend amount of Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100, a promise that is yet to take effect.

(Edited by Harsh Pandey)

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