Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh-Samman Nidhi Yojana: Himachal Pradesh’s Cash-Transfer Scheme for Women

The scheme

• The full name is Indira Gandhi Pyari Behna Sukh-Samman Nidhi Yojana.
• CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched it on 25 February 2024.
• Eligible women get ₹1,500 a month, credited to their bank account.

A Congress promise

• It fulfils a 2022 Congress election promise.
• The party called it its “fourth guarantee”.

Rolled out in phases

• The scheme is being switched on district by district.
• It did not start statewide at once.

First district

• Lahaul & Spiti is a remote tribal district.
• Coverage there took effect from 1 February 2024.
• Women there aged 18 or above were covered at launch.

Raising the rate

• The state first planned ₹1,100 a month.
• The Congress government raised it to ₹1,500.
• About 2.42 lakh women were expected to get the higher amount.

Wider coverage

• Later, coverage widened to include domestic workers.
• Other districts, such as Kinnaur and Una, were added in phases.

Why the slow pace

• Himachal’s Congress government took office in December 2022 under CM Sukhu.
• The state’s finances are tight.
• It has also deferred salary hikes and delayed other dues.

Remote districts first

• High-altitude districts were chosen before larger, wealthier ones.
• As of April 2026, several districts were still waiting for their first payment.

Recent steps

• On 16 April 2025, the CM released three months’ money at once, ₹4,500, to 1,926 women in Chamba’s Pangi valley.
• He also widened eligibility to women turning 21 by March 2026, and to domestic workers.
• On 16 April 2026, at a Himachal Day event in Kinnaur, he extended the scheme there.
• Kinnaur women must be 21 or older with family income under ₹2 lakh a year.

An uneven rollout

• A 2026 monsoon-session report by ETV Bharat counted payments seat by seat.
• Haroli, the Deputy CM’s seat, led with 5,553 women paid.
• Nadaun, the CM’s own seat, had none.
• Of 68 assembly seats, 16 had no beneficiary.
• Ten of Kangra’s 15 seats had none.
• Lahaul & Spiti had 1,171 women; Bilaspur district, 3,254.
• Opposition leader Jai Ram Thakur’s Siraj seat had 550.

Compare

• Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna started statewide at once.
• Read the state profile in Himachal Pradesh.
• See also Mahtari Vandan Yojana.

Latest position

• On 16 April 2025, ₹4,500 went to 1,926 women in Pangi valley.
• On 16 April 2026, the scheme reached Kinnaur.
• Several districts were still waiting as of April 2026.