Gruha Lakshmi: Karnataka’s Cash-Transfer Scheme for Women

Basics

• Gruha Lakshmi is a Karnataka cash-transfer scheme for women heads of households.
• The Congress government launched it on 30 August 2023, under CM Siddaramaiah.
• It pays ₹2,000 a month by Direct Benefit Transfer.

Part of five guarantees

• It is one of five guarantees in Congress’s 2023 Karnataka manifesto.
• The others are Gruha Jyothi (free electricity), Anna Bhagya (free rice), Shakti and Yuva Nidhi.

Scale

• It covers about 1.24 crore women (1,24,48,938).
• By August 2026, ₹76,951 crore had been paid in 32 instalments.

Who is excluded

• Families who pay income tax or GST are excluded.

First cleanup, September 2025

• On 15 September 2025, the state removed 2.13 lakh beneficiaries.
• About 1.08 lakh were income-tax payers, and about 1.04 lakh were linked to GST filers.
• Reports said none of them had received an instalment.

Compare with others

• See the state-by-state directory.
• Read how Ladli Behna Yojana began the wave.

Change at the top

• D K Shivakumar became Karnataka’s Chief Minister on 3 June 2026.
• He succeeded Siddaramaiah.
• The change followed a Congress power-sharing arrangement.

Re-verification

• On 13 June 2026, Shivakumar ordered Gruha Lakshmi and Gruha Jyothi beneficiaries to resubmit applications.
• He cited large-scale misuse, including deceased and duplicate names.
• Formal re-verification began on 30 August 2026, the scheme’s third anniversary.
• It uses home visits, biometric checks and face authentication.
• Beneficiaries who do not comply risk losing benefits.
• He has said the schemes will not be scrapped.

What went wrong

• About ₹100 crore of Gruha Lakshmi money went to people who had died.
• Some applicants gave wrong contact details.
• Some money was diverted to loan repayments and fraud.
• Gruha Jyothi had a related problem: several electricity meters under one name, some for commercial use.
• Gruha Jyothi, the free-electricity guarantee, has about 1.64 crore beneficiaries.
• It gives 200 free units a month.

In his words

• Shivakumar said the state would not stop the scheme for anyone.
• Genuine, verified beneficiaries are to get identity cards.

Money set aside

• Siddaramaiah’s 6 March 2026 budget allocated ₹28,608 crore for the scheme.
• The same budget gave ₹5,300 crore to Shakti and ₹10,578 crore to Gruha Jyothi.
• Karnataka’s five guarantees had cost ₹1,21,598 crore by February 2026.
• In May 2026, the High Court issued notice over delayed Gruha Lakshmi payments, per Organiser.

Latest position

• D K Shivakumar was sworn in as CM on 3 June 2026.
• The re-verification order came on 13 June 2026.
• Biometric re-verification began on 30 August 2026.