Cash-Transfer Schemes for Women: A State-by-State Directory

How much does each state pay?

• Fifteen states now run a cash scheme for women. Thirteen are paying. Kerala has stopped, and Delhi has only just set a start date.
• Most pay between ₹1,000 and ₹3,000 a month, straight into a bank account.
• A cash-transfer scheme sends money, not goods like grain.
• Think of pocket money. Every family sets its own amount.
• States work the same way. So never assume one state’s rules apply to another.

Assam: the first template

• Orunodoi gives ₹1,250 a month to women who head AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana) households.
• It launched on 2 October 2020, under Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
• Women must be aged 16 to 59, with family income under ₹2 lakh a year.
• It now reaches over 37 lakh women.
• Read more: Orunodoi.

Goa: only for homemakers

• Griha Aadhar pays ₹2,500 a month, but only to homemakers with no paid job.
• It also launched in 2020, run by Goa’s Directorate of Women and Child Development.
• A salaried job ends eligibility at once.
• It is the only scheme here that depends on work status, not on age or marriage.
• Read more: Griha Aadhar.

Madhya Pradesh: the model others copied

• Ladli Behna pays ₹1,500 a month to more than 1.27 crore women.
• Then Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched it on 5 March 2023, at ₹1,250.
• The state has flagged a rise to ₹3,000 a month by 2028.
• Many later states copied this pattern.
• Read more: Ladli Behna.

Schemes with their own twist

• Himachal Pradesh pays ₹1,500 a month, rolled out district by district from 25 February 2024.
• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu kept a 2022 Congress election promise.
• On Himachal Day, 15 April 2026, it reached all eligible women in Kinnaur. Read more.

• Chhattisgarh’s Mahtari Vandan pays ₹1,000 a month to married women aged 21 or above.
• It launched on 1 March 2024, under Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai’s BJP government.
• Widows, divorced and deserted women also qualify. Family income must be under ₹2.5 lakh. Read more.

• Jharkhand’s Maiya Samman now pays ₹2,500 a month, up from ₹1,000.
• It launched on 18 August 2024, under Hemant Soren’s JMM government.
• It covers women aged 21 to 50. Read more.

• Odisha’s Subhadra pays ₹10,000 a year in two instalments.
• PM Modi launched it at Bhubaneswar on 17 September 2024.
• It is for women aged 21 to 60, with family income under ₹2.5 lakh.
• It runs through 2029, for ₹50,000 per woman.
• By April 2026, over 1 crore women had enrolled, across all 30 districts. Read more.

• Haryana’s Lado Lakshmi pays ₹2,100 a month to women aged 23 or older.
• It launched on 25 September 2025, under Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
• The date was Deendayal Upadhyaya’s birth anniversary, about a year after the promise.
• Women need 15 years of domicile. That means proof of living in Haryana. Read more.

• Punjab’s Mawan Dheeyan da Satkar is the only scheme with two rates: ₹1,000 for general-category women and ₹1,500 for Scheduled Caste women.
• CM Bhagwant Mann announced it on 8 March 2026. It began as a pilot in 9 assembly constituencies.
• Statewide payments began on 1 July 2026.
• ₹9,300 crore is set aside for 2026-27. It aims to reach about 52 lakh women.
• By 28 July 2026, about 33 lakh had been paid.
• Source: The Tribune. Read more.

Why lists are shrinking

• A verification drive is a fresh check of who is on the list.
• It removes fake names and people who have died.
• Some lists have shrunk sharply as a result.

Maharashtra: the list cut by 38%

• Ladki Bahin pays ₹1,500 a month to women aged 21 to 65, with family income under ₹2.5 lakh.
• The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana was approved on 28 June 2024, under then-CM Eknath Shinde.
• A drive that began in September 2025 removed 92 lakh names.
• The list fell from a peak of 2.43 crore to just over 1.5 crore by July 2026.
• The state cut the budget by ₹9,500 crore to match. Read more.

Karnataka: everyone applies again

• Gruha Lakshmi pays ₹2,000 a month to about 1.28 crore women who head a household.
• It launched on 30 August 2023, one of five “guarantee” schemes in Congress’s 2023 manifesto.
• D.K. Shivakumar became Chief Minister in June 2026. He ordered every beneficiary to apply again, citing large-scale misuse.
• Door-to-door checks have run since 1 July 2026.
• A formal re-check began on 30 August 2026, for about 1.24 crore women, over about a month.
• It uses a printed form, a face check and a fingerprint check at ration shops and Grama One centres.
• In Dakshina Kannada alone, over 9,200 dead beneficiaries were already removed.
• Source: Oneindia and News Karnataka. Read more.

Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh

• In Jharkhand, from June 2026, each woman must finish a physical check called Satyapan at the local Anganwadi centre.
• In Chhattisgarh, an e-KYC drive ran from April to June 2026.
• e-KYC means proving who you are online. Women who skipped it lost further payments.

Four things can happen to a scheme

• A new government can keep a scheme, rename it, replace it or stop it.
• All four have happened.

Replaced: West Bengal

• The TMC government launched Lakshmir Bhandar in 2021. It later paid ₹1,500 (general) and ₹1,700 (SC/ST).
• The BJP’s first-ever West Bengal government took office on 9 May 2026, ending TMC’s 15-year rule.
• It brought in Annapurna Bhandar from 3 June 2026, at a flat ₹3,000 a month.
• About 1.3 crore women were covered by the 1 July 2026 instalment.
• About 1.58 crore women got the September 2026 instalment.
• Source: DD India. Read more.

Renamed: Tamil Nadu

• Then-CM M.K. Stalin launched Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai on 15 September 2023.
• It paid about 1.06 crore women who head a household.
• In April 2026, first-time party TVK won the election, and Stalin lost his own seat.
• The August 2026 budget dropped “Kalaignar” from the name. The scheme still pays ₹1,000 a month.
• It skipped TVK’s own promise to raise the sum to ₹2,500. Read more.

Stopped: Kerala

• Outgoing CM Pinarayi Vijayan launched Sthree Suraksha on 11 February 2026.
• It paid ₹1,000 a month to poorer women aged 35-60, including transwomen.
• Weeks later, his LDF government lost the 2026 election.
• The new UDF government, under CM V.D. Satheesan, has halted payments.
• On 29 June 2026, he would not say if the scheme would continue. He said the list must be checked first.
• Source: Onmanorama. Read more.

Delayed: Delhi

• The Cabinet approved Mahila Samridhi Yojana on 8 March 2025, under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
• It was renamed Delhi Lakshmi Yojana on 14 July 2026. It covers women aged 21 to 60.
• For over a year after approval, no money went out.
• Rollout was first planned around Raksha Bandhan 2026.
• Payments of ₹2,500 a month were then set to start on 1 September 2026.
• By 26 August 2026, over 9 lakh women had registered, and approval letters began going out.
• Source: News On AIR and Indian Masterminds. Read more.

Two schemes that look similar but are not

• This list covers only regular payments to women. A one-time grant or a general pension is left out.
• Bihar’s Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana is a lump-sum business grant.
• PM Modi launched it on 26 September 2025.
• Before the November 2025 election, Bihar paid a first ₹10,000 to over 1.1 crore women.
• Women whose businesses do well can get up to ₹2 lakh more later.
• Source: News On AIR. Read more.
• Andhra Pradesh’s NTR Bharosa Pension is a wider social-security pension, not only for women. Read more.

Telangana and Uttar Pradesh

• Telangana’s Mahalakshmi promises women ₹2,500 a month.
• Free bus travel for women began on 9 December 2023.
• A ₹500 cooking-gas cylinder followed on 27 February 2024.
• The ₹2,500 cash was still unpaid as of July 2025. Check the latest before relying on this.
• Source: South First, NewsMeter and The Hans India.
• Uttar Pradesh is reported to be planning a ₹50,000 cash scheme before its 2027 election.
• Reports say ₹20,000 would come first, then three ₹10,000 instalments. The state has not confirmed it.
• Source: The Wire.
• This directory grows. When a new state scheme gets its own full lesson, it is added here with a link.