Maharashtra officials removed between 81 lakh [2] and 92 lakh [1] women from the Ladki Bahin Yojana welfare scheme following an e-KYC verification process.
This mass removal indicates a significant tightening of eligibility requirements for one of the state's primary social welfare initiatives. The move aims to ensure that financial benefits reach only the intended demographics while eliminating fraudulent or ineligible claims.
The state government implemented the e-KYC drive to identify individuals who did not meet the program's criteria. The Women and Child Development Minister said the process was mandatory to systematically weed out ineligible registrations, income-tax payers, and families of government employees [2].
Beyond the women removed from the list, the verification process also identified 14,000 men who had attempted to claim the benefits [1]. These individuals were subsequently removed from the system.
Reports indicate that the impact of these removals was not uniform across the state. The highest number of dropped applicants was reported in the Beed district [1].
Opposition leaders have raised questions regarding the process, noting potential irregularities in how the removals were handled [2]. The government said that the digital verification was necessary to maintain the integrity of the fund and prevent the misuse of public resources.
“The e-KYC process was mandatory to systematically weed out ineligible registrations”
The removal of millions of beneficiaries suggests a discrepancy between initial registration numbers and actual eligibility. By using e-KYC to filter out tax payers and government-affiliated families, the Maharashtra government is shifting from a broad enrollment strategy to a targeted delivery model to reduce fiscal leakage.
