Delhi government to give ₹2,500 monthly stipend to women, but they can't spend it on liquor, online games

Under the scheme, women who opt for the government’s preferred payment model will receive ₹2,500 every month.

The Delhi government plans to bar beneficiaries of its newly approved Delhi Lakshmi Yojana from using the monthly financial assistance to purchase liquor, tobacco products, or access online gambling services, by introducing spending restrictions through a “negative list”, officials familiar with the proposal said on Thursday.

The Delhi Cabinet approved the scheme earlier this week, earmarking ₹5,110 crore in the 2026-27 Budget. (File Photo/ANI)

Under the scheme, women who opt for the government’s preferred payment model will receive ₹2,500 every month, with ₹1,500 deposited into a recurring deposit (RD) or fixed deposit (FD) and the remaining ₹1,000 credited to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet.

Delhi Lakshmi Yojana

The amount in the Digital Rupee wallet can only be spent on approved goods and services, while purchases of items included in the negative list will be blocked, at least two officials told HT.

“The negative list includes liquor, paan, gutka, cigarettes, bidis and other intoxicants. Beneficiaries will also not be able to use the Digital Rupee wallet for online gaming and gambling,” said one of the officials.

According to the scheme guidelines, the spending restrictions introduced by the Delhi government are intended to ensure that public funds are used for essential household expenses and welfare-oriented purposes rather than on prohibited categories such as liquor and gambling.

What the officials said about enforcing the restrictions

To be sure, two officials acknowledged that enforcing all the restrictions may prove challenging.

“Since all liquor vends in Delhi are government-run, we can disable the use of the Lakshmi Yojana wallet at those outlets. The larger challenge is restricting expenditure on other items and services included in the negative list. We are still working out those details,” another official said.

The Digital Rupee, or e ₹, is the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CDBC) and functions as an electronic version of the Indian Rupee, allowing users to make digital payments or store value much like physical cash.

The Delhi Cabinet approved the scheme earlier this week, earmarking ₹5,110 crore in the 2026-27 Budget. More than 1.7 million women are expected to benefit.

‘Beneficiaries will have two options’: CM Rekha Gupta

Chief minister Rekha Gupta said beneficiaries will have two options. Besides the mixed RD/FD and CBDC model, they can choose to have the entire ₹2,500 deposited into a recurring or fixed deposit to encourage long-term savings.

Women aged 21 to 60 years with an annual family income of up to ₹2.5 lakh will be eligible, subject to other conditions. Those already receiving financial assistance or pensions under any government scheme, income tax payers, GST filers, government employees, or women from families with members employed by the Centre, state governments, public sector undertakings or other government organisations will be excluded.

Officials said applications will open through an online portal on August 1. Applicants will be required to upload supporting documents, following which district-level committees will scrutinise applications every month. The government aims to release the first instalment by Raksha Bandhan.

Besides providing financial assistance, the scheme seeks to promote savings, education, healthcare and greater participation in welfare programmes while ensuring government funds are not diverted towards expenditure on items included in the negative list, officials said.