Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana is the Maharashtra government’s direct cash transfer scheme that pays Rs 1,500 a month to women aged 21 to 65 from families with an annual income of up to Rs 2.5 lakh. Announced in the state budget on 28 June 2024 and opened for applications from 1 July 2024, it reached about 2.5 crore women within months and became the central issue of the November 2024 assembly election.
Context
- In January 2025 the state government began acting on complaints of bogus or ineligible beneficiaries: it sought data from the Income Tax Department (to identify tax-paying households) and the Transport Department (to identify families owning a four-wheeler) to verify applicants.
- Beneficiaries found ineligible – income above the limit, government employees in the family, a car in the family, or those already getting Rs 1,500 or more from another scheme – were to be removed from the rolls.
What the Scheme Provides
- Rs 1,500 per month, credited by DBT into the woman’s bank account; the ruling alliance promised to raise it to Rs 2,100 after the 2024 election.
- The first instalments for July and August 2024 were paid together in August 2024, around Rakshabandhan.
- Annual outlay of about Rs 46,000 crore, one of the largest state welfare budgets in India.
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Eligibility
- Woman resident of Maharashtra aged 21 to 65 years – married, unmarried, widowed, divorced or destitute; one unmarried woman per family also eligible.
- Family annual income up to Rs 2.5 lakh; no income-tax payer in the family.
- No family member in regular government service or drawing a government pension; no four-wheeler in the family (tractors excluded).
- Not receiving Rs 1,500 or more a month from another government scheme.
- Documents: Aadhaar, domicile or ration card, income certificate, bank account linked to Aadhaar.
Objectives
- Financial independence for women, better nutrition and health for women and children, and a larger say for women in family decisions.
- Modelled on Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana (2023); similar schemes exist in Karnataka (Gruha Lakshmi), Jharkhand (Maiya Samman) and other states.
Criticism and Concerns
- Fiscal stress: the outlay is a large share of the state’s revenue budget, with warnings from the finance department about the deficit.
- Targeting: lakhs of applications from ineligible women, hence the verification drive using tax and vehicle data.
- Debate over whether cash transfers should be linked to skilling or livelihood support.
Important Facts for Examsmost asked
- Scheme: Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, Maharashtra, Women and Child Development Department.
- Announced 28 June 2024 (state budget); applications from 1 July 2024; benefit Rs 1,500 a month; age 21-65; income ceiling Rs 2.5 lakh.
- About 2.5 crore beneficiaries; annual cost about Rs 46,000 crore; verification through Income Tax and Transport Department data from January 2025.
- Inspired by Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana.
FAQs
Is the scheme only for married women?
No. Married, unmarried, widowed, divorced and abandoned women aged 21 to 65 are eligible, subject to the income and other conditions.
Why were beneficiaries verified in 2025?
Because complaints showed that women from tax-paying families, government-employee households or car-owning families had enrolled despite being ineligible.
Why is a state scheme asked in national exams?
Large cash-transfer schemes for women are a policy trend across states and appear in current-affairs and social-issues sections of RBI, NABARD and SSC exams.
