Context: The article examines Maharashtra’s principal cash-transfer programme for women amid beneficiary verification, digital-access concerns and audit findings relating to excess expenditure and fund management.
Source: “Maharashtra’s Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana,” The Hindu, July 16, 2026
Core Points
- Launched in 2024, the scheme provides eligible women with ₹1,500 per month through Direct Benefit Transfer.
Eligibility extends to Maharashtra residents aged 21–65 belonging to families with annual income below ₹2.5 lakh and possessing an Aadhaar-linked bank account. - The programme seeks to improve women’s economic independence, nutrition and participation in household decision-making.
- Beneficiary numbers declined from a peak of 2.43 crore to approximately 1.66 crore following successive verification exercises.
- The government attributed the exclusions to ineligibility and failure to complete mandatory electronic Know Your Customer requirements. The process also raised concerns about digitally excluded eligible beneficiaries.
- The authorised provision for 2024–25 was ₹29,693.09 crore, while expenditure reached ₹33,237.24 crore, producing excess expenditure of ₹3,541.16 crore.
- The available grant included ₹26,200 crore through supplementary demands and ₹3,490.75 crore reappropriated from the Lek Ladki Yojana.
- A test check found that ₹15,586 crore drawn between January and March 2025 had been transferred to a Virtual Personal Deposit Account.
- The audit findings raise questions about budget estimation, expenditure control, fund parking and legislative oversight of public money.
- Verification can prevent duplication and leakage, but accessible grievance redressal and assisted authentication are necessary to prevent wrongful exclusion.
- The expenditure findings are documented in the CAG’s State Finances Audit Report for Maharashtra, 2024–25, tabled on July 10, 2026.
Prelims Relevance
- Direct Benefit Transfer transfers government benefits directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts.
- Aadhaar e-KYC electronically verifies identity using information held by the Unique Identification Authority of India.
- Under Article 151, CAG reports relating to a state are submitted to the Governor for placement before the State Legislature.
- Reappropriation transfers an allocation between units within an authorised grant, subject to applicable financial rules.
Mains Relevance
- GS II — Women’s empowerment, welfare delivery, DBT, digital exclusion and grievance redressal.
- GS III — State finances, public expenditure, budgetary control and fiscal accountability.
Supporting Fact Box
- Article 149 provides that the CAG’s duties and powers are prescribed by parliamentary law.
- An Appropriation Act authorises withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Fund for expenditure approved by the legislature.
- Excess state expenditure requires legislative regularisation in accordance with Article 205 of the Constitution.
- Personal Deposit Accounts are created for designated purposes within the government-accounting system; transferring money to them without immediate expenditure requirements can obscure actual utilisation.
- Audit identifies irregularity and supports legislative scrutiny; the CAG does not itself impose criminal penalties or recover expenditure.