Maharashtra Government Excludes 8.1 Million Beneficiaries from Ladki Bahin Scheme

A comprehensive bank verification and e-KYC drive has resulted in a massive reduction of beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana, removing over 8.1 million ineligible registrations.

MUMBAI, June 1, 2026 : The Maharashtra Department of Women and Child Development has significantly trimmed its flagship welfare program, disqualifying 8.1 million women who previously received financial aid. Following a rigorous electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) verification campaign, the total number of eligible beneficiaries has plummeted from an initial 24.7 million to 16.6 million verified women.

The cash-transfer scheme, which distributes monthly stipends of 1,500 rupees to women aged 21 to 65, initially approved nearly all applicants globally ahead of the state assembly elections. However, after identifying widespread irregularities, including thousands of male applicants and government employees illicitly drawing funds, authorities mandated strict

Aadhaar-linked bank verification. The e-KYC window, initiated in September last year and extended until late April, successfully filtered out unverified and affluent accounts, effectively lowering the projected budget for the current fiscal cycle.

The massive reduction in beneficiary volume reduces the state’s financial liability by approximately 12 billion rupees per month, offering substantial relief to Maharashtra’s heavily strained treasury.

Furthermore, administrative records show that roughly 10,000 to 12,000 women are naturally phased out each month upon crossing the maximum age threshold of 65 years. Legal and disciplinary proceedings have additionally been launched against more than a thousand state employees who fraudulently enrolled in the system.

The sudden exclusion of millions has ignited a fierce political debate across the state. Opposition leaders have labeled the deduplication process a betrayal of trust, accusing the ruling coalition of using universal payouts solely as an electoral tool before quietly dismantling the program’s scope.

Conversely, government leadership defended the administrative audits, reiterating that the scheme will remain permanent for genuine beneficiaries and that the cleanup ensures state funds directly support economically vulnerable households.

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