Ladli Behna Rolls Shrink by 6.25 Lakh as Fresh Registrations Stay Shut

Madhya Pradesh's flagship cash-transfer scheme for women is losing beneficiaries steadily, with government data showing that more than 6.25 lakh women have exited the rolls since the Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana was rolled out.

The scheme was introduced in June 2023, months before the state assembly elections, and has since been projected as a key welfare and outreach programme of the state government.

A pool that keeps contracting

Departmental figures put the number of covered women at over 1.31 crore in October 2023. More than 1.31 crore applications had been received at launch; after scrutiny and objections, over 2.18 lakh names were removed, leaving around 1.29 crore eligible beneficiaries. The count has fallen since.

The decline has carried into 2026. In January, eligible beneficiaries numbered around 1.253 crore. By September 1, that had slipped to roughly 1.251 crore — a reduction of more than 20,000 women in the first eight months of the year.

Age cap and attrition

A central reason for deletions is the age criterion: a woman remains eligible only until she turns 60, after which her name is removed. Names are also struck off on the death of a beneficiary or if she no longer meets other eligibility conditions.

Crucially, while women continue to leave the scheme, there is at present no process for adding new beneficiaries. The pool therefore shrinks rather than grows. Officials say the database is updated continuously and the count could dip further by the end of December 2026 as more women cross the age threshold, but there is no clarity on when fresh registrations will open.

Question raised in the Assembly

The matter reached the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly, where Congress MLA Mahesh Parmar asked when registration of newly eligible women would begin. Women and Child Development Minister Nirmala Bhuria replied that it is not possible to give a timeframe for opening fresh registrations.

Rising payout, falling numbers

The monthly assistance began at Rs 1,000 in June 2023, was later raised to Rs 1,250, and increased by another Rs 250 in November 2025 to reach Rs 1,500, the amount beneficiaries currently receive. The BJP has promised to eventually raise the assistance to Rs 3,000 over five years. While the payout has climbed in stages, the beneficiary count has moved in the opposite direction.

At its present scale, the scheme is estimated to cost the state around Rs 22,680 crore, making it among Madhya Pradesh's most expensive welfare programmes.

Political flashpoints

The scheme has also drawn controversy over remarks by ministers linking government events to beneficiary participation. Revenue Minister and Ichhawar MLA Karan Singh Verma, speaking at the inauguration of sub-health centres in Dhamanda village, noted that 894 Ladli Behna beneficiaries in the village were receiving Rs 1,500 a month but only a small number had attended. He said officials would be asked to call all beneficiaries on a specific day and suggested that those who failed to attend could have their names removed and a report submitted.

Cabinet Minister Vijay Shah drew similar criticism during a District Development Advisory Committee meeting in Ratlam, saying that since crores of rupees were being spent under the scheme, beneficiaries should show respect to the Chief Minister by attending government programmes. He also suggested that applications of women who did not attend be withheld.