Haryana goes the Maharashtra route: Saini govt to soon give ₹2,100/month to women under Lado Lakshmi Yojana

The Haryana government, led by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, will soon implement the Lado Lakshmi Yojana that it promised before the assembly elections last year. As per this scheme, the Saini government will provide a monthly financial aid of ₹2,100 to women. 

The draft policy, prepared by the Social Justice Department, has been forwarded for final approval to Saini. The Chief Minister is expected to package the policy as a "gift for Haryana's women" and roll it out before Rakshabandhan, The Indian Express reported, citing sources. 

“The BJP made a promise to the sisters and mothers of Haryana ahead of last year’s Assembly polls. We have worked on the modalities and have sent it to the CM’s office. Saini will officially launch the scheme in the coming days,” Social Justice Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi was quoted as saying. 

Lado Lakshmi Yojana will be rolled out in four phases, as per the draft policy. Around 46 lakh women falling below the poverty line (BPL) with an annual income of less than ₹1.8 lakh would be covered in the first phase. 

As per officials, the scheme has a budgetary allocation of ₹5,000 crore, which may be hiked once the government finalises the actual number of beneficiaries. At present, the number of women beneficiaries between 18-60 years of age is pegged at around 75 lakh.

Employed women and almost 8.5 lakh women who already avail social security benefits like widow, destitute, retirement, and abandonment pension may be excluded from the scheme. “The eligibility criteria is yet to be finalised by the CM’s office,” sources told the publication. 

Earlier this month, Saini said that his government was coming up with a portal for eligible women to register themselves despite officials saying the portal would go live after the CM's official announcement. 

The scheme is in line with the Ladki Bahin Yojana in Maharashtra and Ladli Behna Yojana in Madhya Pradesh, which played a pivotal role in the BJP's win in the assembly elections in both states.

Under the Ladki Bahin Yojana, one woman in every family whose annual household income is below ₹2.5 lakh gets ₹1,500 per month. In Madhya Pradesh, women aged between 23-60 get ₹1,250 per month under the Ladli Behna Yojana since 2023.