Lakshmir Bhandar: West Bengal’s Cash-Transfer Scheme for Women

What it was

• Lakshmir Bhandar was a West Bengal cash-transfer scheme for women.
• The TMC government announced it in February 2021.
• It paid a fixed monthly sum by Direct Benefit Transfer.

Original rates

• ₹500 a month for general-category women.
• ₹1,000 a month for SC/ST women.

Final TMC rates

• The February 2026 budget raised the rates.
• General category: ₹1,500.
• SC/ST: ₹1,700.

Enrolment

• Sign-ups began in August 2021 through Duare Sarkar camps.
• This was after the TMC’s re-election.

Eligibility

• Women must live in West Bengal.
• Generally aged 25 to 60 years.
• Income-tax payers and government employees are excluded.

Political effect

• Many observers credit the scheme for helping the TMC win in 2021.
• Compare it with Ladli Behna Yojana and Gruha Lakshmi.

The 2026 election

• West Bengal voted in April–May 2026.
• The BJP formed its first-ever state government on 9 May 2026.
• The result ended 15 years of TMC rule.
• Mamata Banerjee lost her own Bhabanipur seat.
• Suvendu Adhikari won it, with 73,917 votes to her 58,812.
• The BJP won 207 seats in the Assembly.
• Adhikari took oath as the ninth Chief Minister of West Bengal on 9 May 2026, at Brigade Parade Ground, Kolkata.

How the swap works

• Annapurna Bhandar went live on 1 June 2026.
• It came with a 90-day enrolment drive.
• Existing Lakshmir Bhandar beneficiaries were migrated automatically, without new applications.
• Special Janakalyan Shibir camps were set for 15–17 June.
• The Women and Child Welfare Department is the nodal agency.

Who qualifies now

• Women aged 25 to 60 who live in West Bengal.
• Income-tax payers are excluded.
• Government employees and pensioners are excluded.
• So are staff of government-aided schools and colleges, teaching or non-teaching.

Checking applications

• Block Development Officers review rural applications.
• Sub-Divisional Officers review urban ones.
• The District Magistrate gives the final approval.

Scale of the old scheme

• Lakshmir Bhandar began enrolling women in August 2021.
• The February 2026 budget counted about 2.42 crore beneficiaries.
• Its general-category rate rose from ₹500 to ₹1,500.
• Its SC/ST rate rose from ₹1,000 to ₹1,700.

Annapurna Bhandar

• The new government kept the idea and changed the name.
• Annapurna Bhandar pays a flat ₹3,000 a month to eligible women.
• That is double the last general-category rate under the old scheme.
• It excludes income-tax payers, government employees and pensioners.
• The first payment, on 1 June 2026, went to 28,25,769 women.
• By September 2026, the fourth instalment reached around 1.5 crore women, according to PM Modi.
• One report put the September list at 1.58 crore.

Why this matters

• A new party kept, and enlarged, its rival’s flagship scheme.
• This suggests cash transfers have become politically durable.
• They survive a change of government.
• The same wave ran across states. See the state-by-state directory.

Latest position

• The BJP government announced Annapurna Bhandar at its first cabinet meeting in May 2026.
• Payments began in June 2026.
• The scheme was notified on 19 May 2026 and launched on 1 June.
• More than 1.70 crore applications had come in by September.
• About 17 lakh were rejected in verification.
• Fresh applications reopened on 20 August 2026.
• Eligible Lakshmir Bhandar women are being moved across after verification.