Maha ‘Ladki Bahin’ Scheme: Majority Beneficiaries Are Married Women

Mumbai

Official data reveals that 83% of beneficiaries under Maharashtra’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana are married women. The scheme, introduced before the 2024 assembly elections, provides ₹1,500 per month to women aged 21 to 65 who are married, divorced, widowed, deserted, or destitute, with a family income below ₹2.5 lakh per year. Additionally, one unmarried woman per family is eligible.

Currently, around 2.5 crore women receive benefits, but the government is reviewing applications to remove ineligible recipients. Data shows 11.8% of beneficiaries are unmarried women, while widows account for 4.7%. Divorced, deserted, and destitute women collectively make up less than 1%. The largest age group of beneficiaries (29%) falls between 30-39 years, followed by 25.5% from 21-29 years and 23.6% from 40-49 years. Women aged 60-65 represent just 5%. Pune district has the highest applications, followed by Nashik and Ahmednagar, while Sindhudurg and Gadchiroli reported the lowest.

Initially projected to cost ₹46,000 crore annually, the scheme has faced scrutiny over allegations of fraud and political motives. The Mahayuti alliance promised to increase the allowance to ₹2,100 per month after elections, with an announcement expected in the upcoming Budget. Meanwhile, opposition leaders accuse the government of misleading voters by cutting beneficiaries post-election, calling it a betrayal of public trust.