Lakshmir Bhandar now empowers 2.2 cr women

Kolkata: Lakshmir Bhandar, the state govt's flagship project aimed at financially empowering women, has been expanded to cover a larger number of women. The amounts of monthly payouts have, however, not been hiked.
The state Budget on Wednesday stated the scheme benefited 2.21 crore women, according to the 2024-25 record, up from 1.98 crore in 2023-24.
The state spent Rs 19,385 crore on the scheme in 2024-25 and Rs 10,101.9 crore in 2023-24. The Budget allotted Rs 38,762 crore to the department of women and child development and social welfare, which will spend a significant portion of it on Lakshmir Bhandar as well as Kanyasree Prakalpa, another flagship scheme of the state, among other projects.
Lakshmir Bhandar, introduced in 2021, provides cash assistance to all women in Bengal, aged between 25 and 60 years. The monthly amount was initially Rs 500 for general-category women and Rs 1,000 for those from SC/ST communities. The amount was increased to Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200, last year.
After the Budget was tabled, chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke on the universal nature of the scheme. "Around 2.2 crore of my mothers and sisters receive Lakshmir Bhandar. We spend a lot of money on it—already spent over Rs 50,000 crore," said Banerjee. "A number of states, including BJP-ruled ones, who tried to copy us, have either stopped the scheme or put in restrictions, for example, if someone has a bike or phone or earns over Rs 2.5 lakh, it will not cover the person. But our Lakshmir Bhandar is universal. One individual might receive Kanyashree or Rupashree, but all the women of a family, if eligible, will receive the money under our scheme. Our project is inclusive and universal."
The Economic Review for 2024-25, presented by the Bengal govt in the assembly on Wednesday, stated "empowering women has always been a priority for the state govt in the last 13 years. Lakshmir Bhandar, a financial assistance scheme for women, is the pioneering project of the state to provide a basic monthly income to 2.21 crore women in the state".