# Delhi women’s cash scheme launched as study shows wider household benefits 2026-08-12T15:36:59+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Livemint reports that the Delhi government on 1 August launched the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, giving ₹2,500 a month to eligible women. Over 15 states now run similar unconditional cash transfer schemes costing roughly ₹2.68 lakh crore and reaching about 12 crore women. A recent working paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister examined Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahin Yojana and Odisha’s Subhadra Yojana. It found that male relatives of beneficiaries saw their month-end bank balances rise 23 per cent and their spending fall 49 per cent. Experts quoted by Livemint point to evidence that cash transfers improve food security, income, savings and children’s school enrolment. Pankhuri Shah of Project DEEP told Livemint that the study shows how women’s independent income shifts household finances, while Akshay Modi of Sattva Consulting cited over 100 studies linking unconditional transfers to better well-being. The paper recommends sustaining these schemes with ‘cash-plus’ components like capacity-building and self-help group linkages. ## Coverage - livemint.com Tags: cash transfers, Delhi, direct benefit transfer, EAC-PM, household welfare, women's welfare Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-womens-cash-scheme-launched-as-study-shows-wider-household-benefits/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-womens-cash-scheme-launched-as-study-shows-wider-household-benefits/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.