Haryana BJP government extends Lado Lakshmi Yojana to more women with riders, Opposition cries foul

The amendments made by the Haryana’s Bharatiya Janata Party government to its monthly financial aid scheme for the women, “Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana”, further extending it to women with annual income limit up to ₹1.80 lakh, but with additional criteria of academic excellence and the health of their children, has drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition for “imposing conditions after conditions” instead of offering it to all women as promised in the party’s manifesto.

Besides the women with annual income of less than ₹1 lakh currently being given ₹2,100 per month under the scheme, the Haryana government has now brought more beneficiaries under its preview integrating social development-linked eligibility criteria with the income-based eligibility. For the increased limit, only those women whose children studying in government schools have demonstrated academic excellence by securing more than 80% marks in Class 10 or 12 board examinations, or have achieved grade-level competency under the NIPUN Bharat Mission in Classes 1 to 4, will be considered eligible.

Similarly, mothers who have successfully rehabilitated their children from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) or Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), as verified by the Women and Child Development Department, will also be covered under the scheme. Existing criteria related to age and domicile will continue unchanged.

Congress’ Sirsa MP Kumari Selja has condemned the new sets of conditions saying that “this policy does not reflect women’s empowerment, but rather a mindset aimed at humiliating women”. “The scheme was launched for women’s empowerment, but today the BJP government has bound it with conditions and marks-based criteria. The government has gone back on its own commitment. Women who were supposed to receive financial assistance without discrimination are now being asked about their children’s marks. Will a mother’s worth now be decided by a report card?,” she said in a press statement.

Also, in yet another amendment, the assistance will be released in two parts from the second month onwards — ₹1,100 will be credited directly to the beneficiary’s savings bank account, while ₹1,000 will be deposited in a government-operated recurring deposit or fixed deposit account. The accumulated amount, along with interest, will be paid to the beneficiary on maturity, not exceeding five years.

Speaking to reporters at his residence in Rohtak on Friday (January 2, 2026), former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition, Bhupinder Singh Hooda stated that in 2024-25, 2.13 crore people in Haryana were in the Below Poverty Line category, meaning that approximately 85 lakh women should have benefit from this scheme. However, the government is currently only talking about giving the amount to eight lakh women. Even then, it is now being said that women will only receive ₹1,100, and ₹1,000 will be deposited. “Besides this, conditions such as income limits, children’s education, and malnutrition have been imposed. The government is deliberately imposing such conditions so that most women are automatically excluded from the beneficiaries list,” he stated.

The expansion of the scheme will benefit more than one lakh new women. So far, 10,02,550 women have applied under the scheme, of these, 8 lakh women are being provided with financial assistance.