Women's Day 2025: Ladli Behna to Maiyaa Samman — Popular Women-Focussed Schemes In Various States

To mark the International Women’s Day on March 8, newly sworn-in Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is expected to launch the ‘Mahila Samriddhi Scheme’ for women of the national capital. The scheme, promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the elections, seeks to give a monthly allowance of Rs 2,500 to eligible beneficiaries.

Women aged 18 to 60 years with a family having an income below Rs 3 lakh will be eligible for this scheme. Government employees and recipients of any other cash benefit or financial aid schemes are ineligible.

The scheme is inspired by several similar initiatives already implemented across various states in India.

Here’s a look at cash benefit schemes for women across various states:

A popular aid scheme, Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra seeks to empower women through a monthly allowance of Rs 1,500. The direct cash benefit scheme targets more than 20 million women between 21 and 65 years of age. Notably, women who are already beneficiaries of some other direct cash transfer benefit scheme are not eligible for Ladki Bahin aid. One of the key criteria to receive the aid is to have a family income of not more than Rs 2.5 lakh a year

Started by former Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in May 2023, the scheme promises a Rs 1,250 monthly allowance for women beneficiaries. Eligibility conditions include women having an annual family income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh, those who have less than 5 acres of land, and those who are aged 23 to 60 years. The scheme benefits over 1.2 crore women beneficiaries in Madhya Pradesh.

In Odisha, CM Mohan Charan Majhi introduced this welfare initiative aimed at 2 million women. The state government promises a Rs 10,000 yearly cash benefit allowance in two instalments for eligible beneficiaries. Women between 21 and 60 years of age, having a family income below Rs 2.50 lakh annually, are eligible for this scheme.

In the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, the BJP had promised a monthly stipend of Rs 2,100 to every woman in the state. Soon after being elected, the BJP-led state government implemented the scheme, aimed at women aged above 18 years. The scheme benefits women belonging to economically weaker sections. Beneficiaries must be a resident of the state, have an annual income of Rs 1.8 lakh or less, and must possess a BPL or Antyodaya Anna Yojana ration card. Women already availing benefits from other schemes are ineligible for the scheme.

The Tamil Nadu Government is providing financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to eligible women. Some of the qualifying conditions include having an annual income limit of Rs 2.5 lakh, family landholdings up to five acres of wetland or 10 acres of dryland, and not having cars, tractors or similar vehicles, among others.

Jharkhand's Mukhyamantri Maiya Samman Yojana is aimed at providing Rs 1,000 to 5.6 million women aged 18–50 every month in the state. The benefits can be availed by women of the state who are not part of an income tax paying family, do not have an EPF account, and are not state or local government employees.

The West Bengal government provides a cash benefit of Rs 1,200 every month to women of SC/ST households and Rs 1,000 per month to other beneficiaries who are in the 25–60 years age group. For the scheme, applicants have to be enrolled in the "Swasthya Sathi" scheme and should not be a government employee, either permanent or retired.

Introduced by the Karnataka government, the scheme focuses on providing a monthly financial aid of Rs 2,000 to eligible women. The scheme is open to families holding Below Poverty Line, or Above Poverty Line ration cards in which women are named as the head of the family.