Maharashtra – Ladki Bahin Yojana
Launch: August 2024, ahead of elections; ₹1,500 monthly stipend.
Impact: 2.43 crore women enrolled; credited with Mahayuti’s 2024 sweep.
Verification Drive: Began September 2025; 92 lakh beneficiaries removed (38% reduction).
Fiscal Pressure:
Deficit: ₹1.5 lakh crore (2026–27).
Debt: ₹11 lakh crore.
Savings: ₹16,500 crore annually after removals.
Allocation: Cut from ₹36,000 crore (2025–26) to ₹26,000 crore (2026–27).
Political Angle: Promise to raise payout to ₹2,100 deferred until fiscal balance achieved.
Karnataka – Gruha Lakshmi & Guarantees
Launch: August 2023; ₹2,000/month to women heads of households.
Enrolment: Rose to 1.3 crore by April 2026.
Issues: Payments to dead women & ineligible taxpayers.
CAG Findings:
Guarantees = 15% of revenue expenditure.
Fiscal deficit rose from ₹46,623 crore (2022–23) to ₹65,522 crore (2023–24).
Capital expenditure fell; incomplete projects up 68%.
Response: Reapplication with biometric verification; likely beneficiary reduction.
Jharkhand – Maiya Samman Yojana
Launch: August 2024; ₹1,000/month, raised to ₹2,500 in Jan 2025.
Beneficiaries: Fell from 56.6 lakh (Jan 2025) to 51 lakh (Oct 2025).
Budget Impact:
2026–27 allocation: ₹14,065 crore (12% of revenue expenditure).
Scheme cost exceeds fiscal deficit two years in a row.
Verification: Ongoing; further cuts expected.
West Bengal – Lakshmir Bhandar → Annapurna Bhandar
Lakshmir Bhandar: ₹1,000–1,700/month; 2.3 crore women; cost ₹30,000 crore.
Change under BJP Govt (2026): Annapurna Bhandar launched; payout doubled to ₹3,000.
Budget: ₹36,000 crore (2026–27).
Mechanism: Electoral roll revision + ration card cancellations → beneficiaries cut from 2.4 crore to ~1 crore.
Delhi – Mahila Samriddhi / Lakshmi Yojana
AAP Promise: ₹2,100/month (not delivered).
BJP Promise: ₹2,500/month; launched Aug 2026 as Delhi Lakshmi Yojana.
Eligibility: Strict rules (age 21–60, income <₹2.5 lakh, residency ≥10 years, exclusions for govt employees, taxpayers, high electricity use, etc.).
Beneficiaries: Only 17 lakh women out of 71 lakh voters.
Centre – PM-KISAN & MGNREGA
PM-KISAN: Peak 11.26 crore (2021); cut to 8.53 crore (2022) via Aadhaar/eKYC; now 9.44 crore (2026).
MGNREGA: Peak 11.2 crore (2020–21); 5.19 crore job cards cancelled in 2022–23; now ~8 crore workers; spending down 20%.
States Expanding Freebies
Madhya Pradesh – Ladli Behna Yojana: Stable 1.25 crore beneficiaries; payout raised to ₹1,500; allocation up to ₹23,882 crore (2026–27).
Odisha – Subhadra Yojana: Beneficiaries grew from 1.07 crore (2024) to 1.12 crore (2026); fiscal deficit manageable at 3.2% of GSDP.
Key Takeaways
Trend: Many states are narrowing beneficiary lists to reduce fiscal stress, while a few (MP, Odisha) continue expanding.
Fiscal Reality: Freebie schemes crowd out capital expenditure (roads, metros, irrigation, health).
Political Strategy: Governments rarely scrap schemes outright; instead, they quietly reduce beneficiaries while keeping promises alive for electoral gains.
Future Outlook: More states likely to follow Maharashtra’s model of fiscal correction, balancing populism with sustainability.
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