India's Largest Cash-transfer Scheme for Women in Maharashtra Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Lapses

The scheme pays eligible women 1,500 rupees ($17; £13) a month. Until two years ago, Nirmala Bawaskar had no bank account of her own. A widow who works as a housemaid in Maharashtra's Sambhajinagar district, she signed documents with a thumbprint and had little control over money entering her household.

That changed when she enrolled in the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, one of India's biggest state cash-transfer schemes. Launched just months before the state's closely fought election in 2024, it pays eligible women 1,500 rupees ($17; £13) a month and became both a financial lifeline for millions and one of the state's most potent political symbols. For Bawaskar, the modest monthly payment meant her first bank account and money she could call her own.

"Though it is a small amount, it really helped us, especially with medical expenses, she says. "I was so motivated by it that I even learned how to write. Bawaskar is one of more than 26 million women enrolled in the scheme, which is now under scrutiny over its implementation.