The Delhi government has announced that its women’s financial assistance scheme will be launched as Delhi Lakshmi Yojana by the end of August, with payments aimed around Raksha Bandhan. The development matters for UPSC because it combines a targeted welfare scheme with questions of exclusion, eligibility design, and fiscal implementation.
What the Delhi government has announced
According to the release, eligible beneficiaries will be women aged 21 to 60 years who, or whose families, have lived in Delhi for at least 10 years. Beneficiaries must have no criminal record and must belong to families with annual income not above ₹2.5 lakh.
The scheme will allow only one woman per family, specifically the eldest eligible woman. Women already receiving any government pension or recurring financial assistance, and women from households owning a four-wheeler, will be excluded.
Background and earlier position
The scheme was first promised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) before the 2025 Delhi Assembly election. It was approved by the Delhi Cabinet on 8 March 2025, with ₹5,100 crore set aside, and later revised to ₹5,110 crore in the budget after not being launched in that financial year.
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