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Women may get up to ₹50,000 in MP’s revamped Ladli Behna scheme: Officials
The Ladli Behna scheme was launched in March 2023 by then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan by handing over ₹1,000 per month to women beneficiaries.
The Madhya Pradesh government plans to provide an option of lumpsum amount instead of the monthly payout of ₹1,500 as part of the Ladli Behna scheme, state women and child development minister Nirmala Bhuria said.
“The process of adding more benefits under the Ladli Behna scheme, including providing a lumpsum amount in advance, has been initiated and soon a committee of experts will prepare a draft after detailed review of the scheme,” she said.
The minister noted that the objective of the Ladli Behna scheme is vast and is designed to empower women economically and provide them financial independence.
“The discussions have focussed on increasing the income of women beyond the ₹1,500 they get every month. In the new format, our aim will be to increase the income of women by helping them in setting up businesses and creating self-employment opportunities with money being given under Ladli Behna,” Bhuria said.
An official familiar with the development said the revised Ladli Behna scheme will have two payment modules — the existing monthly payout and the lumpsum amount.
The official said women would get up to three years of money as lumpsum, from ₹18,000 to ₹50,000, in advance to start a business. “The women beneficiary will also get a loan under different schemes of the MP government for starting the business enterprise,” the official said.
The draft will be finalised by the committee headed by Bhuria and approved by chief minister Mohan Yadav before its probable launch before 2026 women’s day on March 8, the official added.
A second government official said the state government spent ₹36,778 crores between January 2024 and November 2025 on the Ladli Behna scheme. However, its new avatar will need more funds and for that the government is trying to generate additional resources, the second official said.
“There is a perception that the schemes like Ladli Behna of MP, Mahila Rozgar of Bihar, Subhadra scheme of Odisha and Ladki Bahin of Maharashtra played vital role in securing win for BJP and its alliance so it’s become important to continue this scheme by the BJP-led state government. They can only add options but they can’t take the risk of changing the originality of the scheme,” political expert Girija Shankar said.
The Ladli Behna scheme was launched in March 2023 by then chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan by handing over ₹1,000 per month to women beneficiaries. Later, the amount increased by ₹250 in September two months before assembly election 2023. In November, chief minister Mohan Yadav increased the amount to ₹1,500 rupees per month.
