Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin scheme: Great expectations?

A Rs.46,000 crore scheme promising Rs.1,500 monthly to 2.5 crore women launches just months before elections, but critics question its sustainability.

Women tie rakhi on Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s wrist after the launch of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, at Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on June 29. | Photo Credit: DEEPAK SALVI/ANI

How to win over women? That seems to be the focus of the ruling alliance in Maharashtra with the Assembly election around the corner. Buoyed by the success of the Ladli Behna scheme in Madhya Pradesh, which is said to have helped the BJP retain power against all odds in the November 2023 election in the State, the Maharashtra government has introduced a similar cash transfer scheme among other initiatives targeting the 4.6 crore women voters in the State.

In his Budget speech on June 28, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who also holds the Finance portfolio, announced the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (Chief Minister’s My Beloved Sister Scheme) with an outlay of Rs.46,000 crore to provide Rs.1,500 a month to 2.5 crore eligible women. The announcement came close on the heels of the Mahayuti alliance—the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar)—winning just 17 of Maharashtra’s 48 seats in the Lok Sabha election.

Any woman between the ages of 21 and 65 earning less than Rs.2.5 lakh a year is eligible for the cash transfer. Beneficiaries of other schemes, such as the Shravan Bal Niradhar Yojana (for parents who have lost a child or have no one to support them), are not eligible for Ladki Bahin. However, if the beneficiary of any scheme gets less than Rs.1,500, Ladki Bahin will make up the deficit.

Unlike the Madhya Pradesh administration, which had six months to roll out the Ladli Behna scheme after it was announced, the Maharashtra administration got only 45 days. The task of reaching out to 2.5 crore women, getting forms filled, and linking their Aadhaar and bank account numbers in such a short time was challenging. Given the experience of the Lek Ladki scheme (to deposit Rs.1 lakh in a girl’s account from birth until the age of 18), for which the Women and Child Development Department could identify only 70,000 beneficiaries, the task seemed daunting.

Various departments were hence asked to prepare a list of possible beneficiaries. The Food and Civil Supplies Department already had a list of 80 lakh beneficiaries of various schemes for families earning less than Rs.1 lakh a year. Rationing officials were asked to reach out to these women with the help of anganwadi workers and help them in filling out the forms. The government also waived the requirement of income certificates for these 80 lakh women.

On July 15, the government launched the “Ladki Bahin” app and portal, and anganwadi workers contacted those who had no access to smartphones to help them fill the forms. The scrutiny of the forms, however, became controversial. The scrutiny committee in every tehsil was headed by the ruling party MLA or a ruling party member.

Depositing so much money into individual accounts was the next major hurdle. The actual deposits began on August 16. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was keen to transfer two instalments for July and August before the Raksha Bandhan festival (which celebrates the bond between brother and sister) on August 18. By September 10, Rs.4,787 crore had been disbursed to 1.6 crore of the 2.05 crore applicants. Another Rs.4,000 crore is expected to be transferred by October 10.

Universal basic income

The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) as a social welfare proposal was mooted in the 2016-17 Economic Survey. This was also the ideological foundation for the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Yojana (PMKSY) providing Rs.6,000 directly into farmers’ accounts. In the 2019 general election, the PMKSY reaped electoral dividends for the BJP across the country. Following that, every State government came up with some such scheme offering a minimum income to a target segment of voters. Direct cash transfer schemes are in place in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.

But not everyone is in favour of such schemes. “These schemes are just political gimmicks,” said Neeraj Hatekar, a professor at Bengaluru’s Azim Premji University. “Politicians want to show that they are giving money directly into the accounts of women. But is it really helpful? Does it really bring any substantial change in the condition of women? The answer is no. Instead of giving such money, there are many structured and sustainable ways to help women. That would have a long-term impact. But as such schemes do not get attention, politicians have relied upon smart schemes.”

The socio-economic condition of women in the State is glossy only on paper. According to Census 2011, Maharashtra’s sex ratio is 922 per thousand males (the national average is 940). In some districts it is lower; in Beed, for instance, the figure is 916. Experts fear that the sex ratio will further slip in the next census.

According to a National Sample Survey Office survey on Maharashtra in 2022-23, as many as 29,13,965 women were working in the unorganised sector as against 77,782 women in the organised sector. As many as 97 per cent of the women working outside agriculture were in the unorganised sector. Of the remaining 3 per cent, a large number worked in the bidi sector, earning as little as Rs.15,000 a year. A recent health survey, too, revealed that 2 out of every 100 women in the State had severe anaemia.

Fragile State economy

The increase in violence against women is another cause for concern. On an average, 121 cases of violence against women are reported in Maharashtra. In 2023, as many as 47,381 cases of violence against women were registered in Maharashtra. The figures in the previous two years (2022 and 2021) were 45,331 and 39,526 respectively, indicating a 4.5 per cent increase every year.

Moreover, the Ladki Bahin scheme is being implemented at a time when the State’s economy is fragile. The State’s debt is over Rs.7 lakh crore (as of 2023-24) and the fiscal deficit is above Rs.1 lakh crore (see “Maharashtra Budget: Ambitious focus on welfare programmes; but where is the money?”,Frontline, July 19, 2024). Critics see the implementation of the scheme, with an outlay of 10 per cent of the State’s GDP, as financial indiscipline.

Women gather in large numbers to participate in a programme organised under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, at Reshimbag Maidan, in Nagpur on August 31. | Photo Credit: Chandrakant Paddhane/ANI

But Ajit Pawar refutes the charge. “Our fiscal situation is under control. The limit of the deficit is set by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. We are strictly following it. We are also sure that this scheme will ultimately help the economy to generate demand,” he said.

The financial strain is evident across sectors. In the Marathwada region, nearly 2,500 teachers in high schools and colleges have not got their full salaries for the past three months.

In the Public Works Department, pending bills amount to Rs.30,000 crore. Milind Bhosale, the head of the State contractors’ association, said: “Small contractors, who spent from their pockets to do work like road repairing and maintenance of government offices are waiting to be paid. But the department says they don’t have money. The government is snatching our money to spend on a political scheme.”

Reason behind delay in Assembly election?

Opponents also see a link between the delay in the announcement of the election in Maharashtra and the implementation of the Ladki Bahin scheme. Typically, Maharashtra Assembly elections have been held in October since 2004. But this time, it is likely to be held in November. Speculation is rife that the November instalment of the Ladki Bahin scheme will be deposited on November 15, just ahead of the voting.

Mahayuti leaders are leaving no stone unturned to reach out to voters. The scheme’s advertising budget is Rs.200 crore. Chief Minister Shinde frequently addresses women’s rallies, highlighting the Ladki Bahin and other women-oriented schemes of the government.

In the Lok Sabha election, the opposition Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) vote share was 2 per cent more than that of the Mahayuti alliance. Assembly-wise leads of the parliamentary election also show a similar pattern, with the MVA ahead in 154 seats and the Mahayuti in 127. Ladki Bahin is expected to change that in favour of the Mahayuti.

However, internal conflicts in the Mahayuti may undermine Ladki Bahin. Leaders of the three constituents have launched separate campaigns to capitalise on the scheme. Although called the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin, the NCP and the BJP hoardings do not mention the Chief Minister.

The MVA, on the other hand, has strategically avoided any criticism of the scheme. On August 20, in a game of one-upmanship, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge announced in Mumbai that the MVA would give Rs.2,000 to every woman if it came to power. According to sources, MVA leaders are thinking of enacting a law to make the scheme a legal right.

Reactions from beneficiaries across the State are mixed. While most of them are happy to get Rs.1,500 a month, some are of the view that giving them government money is not any favour. Their responses have left the politicians guessing.