Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme: Beneficiaries Numbers Dropped to 1.57 Crore Women

The Maharashtra government’s flagship welfare initiative, Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin, has seen a sharp decline in beneficiaries. From 2.43 crore women at launch, the scheme now reaches only about 1.57 crore women. “Currently, 1.57 crore beneficiaries have received the December instalment after completing the e-KYC process,” said a senior official from the Women and Child Development (WCD) department.

Eligibility Checks Lead to Decline

The drop comes after a rigorous eligibility verification by the WCD, which introduced several criteria:

• Annual family income below ₹2.5 lakh
• Removal of duplicate entries
• A cap of two women per household
• Exclusion of families with government employees
• Other parameters to ensure targeted benefits

As a result, around 86 lakh applicants were rejected over 17 months since the scheme’s rollout.

Scheme Rollout and Early Disbursements

The scheme began in July 2024, initially covering 2.43 crore women, who received ₹1,500 per month for five months until November 2024. A total of 2.63 crore women had applied.

Following the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the government launched a detailed scrutiny of beneficiaries. By December 2024, WCD Minister Aditi Tatkare announced that 2.34 crore women had been verified and were receiving benefits. By June 2025, 2.25 crore eligible beneficiaries received the June instalment after the department discovered that some men had applied under the scheme.

Physical Verification for 24 Lakh Women

During the e-KYC process, 1.88 crore beneficiaries completed verification. However, around 24 lakh women were incorrectly classified as state government employees due to flawed age- and status-related questions, preventing them from receiving one month’s financial assistance.

After multiple rounds of scrutiny, the government is now disbursing ₹1,500 per month to 1.57 crore verified beneficiaries.

To address the e-KYC confusion, Minister Tatkare announced that physical verification would be conducted by Anganwadi sevikas for the affected women.

Deadline and Technical Challenges

Beneficiaries were required to complete e-KYC by December 31, 2025, to continue receiving direct monthly transfers. Many reported issues, including:

• Faulty questionnaire design
• OTP failures
• Data mismatches and other technical glitches

A senior WCD official said, “Anganwadi sevikas will physically verify claims. Eligible beneficiaries will continue receiving the instalments. The final decision on missed payments rests with political authorities.”

No New Applications

The WCD confirmed that no new applications will be accepted under the scheme, as the government focuses on verifying and supporting the existing beneficiaries.

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