{
  "id": 2532764,
  "title": "Ladki Bahin Scheme: Maharashtra spent ₹9,605 crore on 9.2 million ineligible beneficiaries, reveals RTI",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/ladki-bahin-scheme-maharashtra-spent-9-605-crore-on-9-2-million",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T07:45:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/india/ladki-bahin-scheme-maharashtra-spent-9-605-crore-on-9-2-million-ineligible-beneficiaries-reveals-rti-11787384257893.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Maharashtra government spent ₹9,605 crore on 9.2 million ineligible beneficiaries under the Ladki Bahin Yojana until June 2026, according to a Right to Information reply to HT. The scheme, launched in August 2024, promised ₹1,500 per month to women aged 21-65 years from financially weaker sections via Direct Benefit Transfer. The BJP-led Mahayuti government claimed that ineligible beneficiaries were removed through a verification process, but data revealed that 6.2 million were removed for failing to complete e-KYC, 1.6 million for exceeding ₹2.5-lakh income cutoff, and 360,000 for being under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Anudan Yojana. The controversy erupted after the Chief Minister stated that ineligible beneficiaries were removed through verification, but the actual number was much higher. The state government has recovered the money from government employees and officers who received the monthly payout, while the remaining beneficiaries are not subject to recovery.",
  "summary": "According to data obtained by the Hindustan Times through an RTI application, the Maharashtra government has disbursed ₹9,605 crore to 9.2 million individuals who were ineligible for the Ladki Bahin scheme until June 2026.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}