The launch of the 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana' has changed the way Maharashtra spends on schemes benefiting women. The scheme was announced in June 2024 and provides Rs 1,500 a month to eligible women aged 21 to 65 years from economically weaker households. It aims to provide direct financial assistance and improve women's economic independence.
Over the past few years, massive expenditure under this scheme have ballooned the state's gender budget. While the government continues to fund programmes on women's safety, education, health and livelihoods, the Ladki Bahin scheme has emerged as the biggest component of women-focused spending.
Spending More Than It Has?
However, the scheme was recently hit with questions over its finances. A recent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that the government spent Rs 33,237.24 crore on the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana against an authorised budget of Rs 29,693.09 crore, resulting in an excess expenditure of Rs 3,541.16 crore.
A recent audit by the CAG found that the government spent Rs 33,237 crore on the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana
According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, expenditure on the scheme had already reached Rs 29,570 crore by December FY26.
The Maharashtra government has removed more than 92 lakh beneficiaries from the Ladki Bahin Yojana. The beneficiary count has decreased from around 2.43 crore in FY25 to just over 1.5 crore, a drop of nearly 38 per cent. The government said most deletions were due to failure to complete mandatory e-KYC or because beneficiaries did not meet the scheme's eligibility criteria, such as the income limit, age limit or other conditions.
Maharashtra's Gender Budget
Between FY24 and FY25, Maharashtra's women welfare expenditure increased 128 times, from about Rs 262 crore to Rs 33,554 crore, according to the CAG's State Finance Report 2024-25.
A large part of this is due to the Ladki Bahin Yojana. Maharashtra's Gender Budget, which collates all schemes that benefit women across departments, increased from Rs 3,672 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 16,173 crore in 2022-23. After the introduction of Ladki Bahin, it rose sharply to Rs 37,174 crore in 2023-24. The Revised Estimate for the Gender Budget for 2024-25 is Rs 62,947 crore, while the Budget Estimate for 2025-26 is Rs 64,008 crore.
Maharashtra's women welfare expenditure increased 128 times, due to the Ladki Bahin Yojana
Other Schemes For Women In State
Although the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana accounts for the largest share of Maharashtra's spending on women, the state continues to fund several other women-focused programmes. These include programmes on women's safety, entrepreneurship, health, education and livelihood.
According to the Economic Survey 2025-26, the Lek Ladki Yojana has a Budget Estimate of around Rs 690 crore for FY26. The Manodhairya Yojana, which provides financial assistance to survivors of rape, acid attacks and human trafficking, has an allocation of about Rs 15 crore in FY26.
The state also funds One Stop Centres for women facing violence, Working Women Hostels, Ujjawala for the rehabilitation of trafficking survivors, women's self-help group initiatives and schemes promoting women entrepreneurs..
