Haryana’s BJP government launched the Lado Lakshmi Yojana, offering support to empower women financially.
CHANDIGARH: The BJP government in Haryana has rolled out the Lado Lakshmi Yojana, offering Rs 2,100 per month to eligible women, further expanding the party’s women-centric initiatives and strengthening its appeal among female voters. The BJP has earned praise for swiftly implementing the scheme within six months of forming the government, especially when compared to the cash-strapped Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, which continues to struggle in fulfilling its key poll promise of providing Rs 1,000 in monthly assistance to women, even three years after coming to power.
In his budget speech, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini earmarked Rs 5,000 crore for the Lado Lakshmi Yojana, emphasising the scheme’s goal of promoting women’s economic independence. However, Saini did not specify the number of beneficiaries, noting that the criteria and eligibility would be announced later. There is speculation that the scheme will target women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families, aged 18 to 60, with an annual family income below Rs 1.8 lakhs.
Officials from the state’s Social Justice and Empowerment Department suggest that if the scheme were extended to all 95 lakh women in the state, it could cost Rs 21,000 crore annually, or around 1.7% of Haryana’s GDP. According to political observers, the inclusion of this scheme in the BJP’s election manifesto played a crucial role in the party’s success in the Haryana elections, especially since Congress had promised Rs 2,000 per month for women in its own manifesto.
A study of election promises in recent years highlights that cash incentive schemes for women have been a significant factor in securing electoral victories. Following the success in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the BJP has also introduced similar schemes in Delhi, Maharashtra, and Odisha.
In Delhi, the newly elected BJP government approved the Mahila Samridhi Yojana on March 8, allocating Rs 5,100 crores to provide Rs 2,500 per month to eligible women aged 21-60 from economically weaker sections, with an annual family income limit of Rs 3 lakhs. In Maharashtra, the BJP-led government adopted the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, launched by its alliance partner and former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, which promises Rs 1,500 per month to 2.38 crore eligible women aged 21-65 years. In Odisha, the BJP government introduced the Subhadra Yojana, providing Rs 10,000 annually in two installments to around 1 crore women aged 21 to 60 years.
Other states have also rolled out similar cash transfer schemes targeting women. In 2021, the West Bengal government, led by Mamata Banerjee, introduced the Lakshmi Bhandhar Scheme, which transfers Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,200 monthly to the bank accounts of 2.11 crore eligible women. Tamil Nadu’s DMK government, led by M.K. Stalin, launched a scheme providing Rs 1,000 per month to around 1.06 crore women in 2023. The JMM government in Jharkhand, led by Hemant Soren, introduced the Maiya Samman Yojana, initially providing Rs 1,000 monthly to 50 lakh women, increasing the amount to Rs 2,500 per month during his second term.
Congress-ruled states have also implemented similar schemes. In Himachal Pradesh, the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government launched the Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh Samman Nidhi Yojana, providing Rs 1,500 per month to around 48,000 women, fulfilling one of its key election promises. In Karnataka, the Congress government introduced the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme, offering Rs 2,000 in monthly assistance to the woman head of BPL families, covering 1.33 crore women.
In Telangana, the Congress government, led by Revanth Reddy, introduced the Mahalakshmi Scheme, offering Rs 2,500 to eligible women, alongside LPG cylinders priced at Rs 500 and free travel on state transport buses.
As per reports, Assam was the first state to implement a cash incentive scheme for women with the Orunodoi scheme, launched by the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government in 2020. Initially providing Rs 830 per month to 19 lakh beneficiaries, the scheme later raised the amount to Rs 1,250 and expanded coverage to 37 lakh women.
Professor Ranjana Aggarwal, former head of the Women’s Study Centre at Kurukshetra University and Director of CSIR-NISTADS, New Delhi, described these initiatives as a positive step toward women’s empowerment.
“Such decisions are politically motivated, but if implemented positively, they can help to bring a social change to improve the lives of women, giving them financial freedom. Even, though the amount of cash benefits in some states is small, we can say that it is a good beginning to address the women’s issues in the country”, Aggarwal said.
However, Manvinder Kaur, Professor at the Centre for Women’s Studies and Development at Panjab University, Chandigarh, emphasised that providing financial aid alone is not enough to empower women. She stressed the importance of ensuring that women have the freedom to manage and spend the money independently, without interference from family members, to truly empower them.