Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Thursday announced that the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana will be launched from September 25. Under this scheme, eligible women will receive Rs 2,100 every month, fulfilling a major election promise of the ruling BJP.
Saini made the announcement after a special meeting of the Haryana Cabinet, which approved the scheme as its single agenda item. “This scheme will be implemented from September 25, on the day of Deendayal Upadhyaya’s (a key party ideologue) birth anniversary,” he said.
From September 25, women aged 23 years and above, married or unmarried, will be eligible for the benefit. In the first phase, the scheme will cover families with an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh. “We estimate that about 19-20 lakh women will get the benefit of this scheme in the first phase,” the CM said.
The government plans to expand the scheme later in phases to include more income groups. To qualify, either the unmarried woman herself or the husband (in case of married women) must be domiciled in Haryana for at least 15 years. There is no cap on the number of women from a single family. “If three women in a family are eligible, all three will receive benefits,” Saini said.
The scheme also links women to other social security benefits automatically. Once an unmarried woman turns 45, she will qualify for the Widow and Destitute Women Financial Assistance Scheme. Married women beneficiaries will become eligible for the Old Age Samman Allowance once they turn 60.
Calling it a step for women’s social security and dignity, Saini said “We will not only make the gazette notification of the scheme, but will also launch an app.
Through this app, eligible beneficiary women can apply for this scheme from home. The list of all eligible women will be published in all panchayats and wards.”
Before the October 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP had promised Rs 2,100 as monthly aid to women if voted back to power. In the 2025–26 budget, Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio, allocated Rs 5,000 crore for the scheme.
Speaking to mediapersons after the cabinet meeting, Saini, accompanied by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi, said the BJP delivered on its promises.
Taking a swipe at the Congress, he said, “The Congress brings ‘ghoshna patra’, but when it assumes power, it forgets it and throws that into the dustbin. They say one thing, but do another and the net result is zero. Same position is of AAP in Punjab. AAP in Punjab had promised before polls that women will be given monthly financial assistance. More than three-and-a-half years have passed, but they have failed to fulfil that promise. Now, when the next polls (in Punjab) come they will again come up with some promises”
He stressed that unlike others, the BJP is fulfilling its commitments even when no elections are due in Haryana. “Today’s special cabinet meeting had this single agenda,” he said.
Saini added that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the “double-engine government” continues to launch welfare initiatives for the poor and needy. The BJP government at the Centre was regularly implementing new schemes to empower and strengthen women, he said.
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