On the occasion of International Women’s Day, the Delhi Cabinet has approved the Mahila Samridhi Yojana (MSY), under which eligible women in the Capital will receive monthly financial aid of ₹2,500.
Announcing the decision here on Saturday, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said a provision of ₹5,100 crore would be made in the upcoming Delhi budget for the scheme’s implementation. “Registration for the scheme will begin soon, and a dedicated portal will be launched for the purpose,” she added, though specific details about the roll-out were not provided.
Gupta emphasised that approval for the scheme fulfills a key electoral promise made by the BJP during the Delhi Assembly elections. “Today, on Women’s Day, our Cabinet has given the green light to this scheme — delivering on the commitment we made to provide ₹2,500 to women in Delhi,” she said at an event organised by the Delhi BJP Mahila Morcha at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
The government has formed a committee chaired by the Chief Minister to oversee the scheme’s implementation. Other members of the panel include Ministers Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, Ashish Sood, and Kapil Mishra. The event was attended by Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, BJP National Vice-President Baijayant Panda, and other senior party leaders.
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Delay in launching the scheme
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which lost power to the BJP in the recent Delhi elections, questioned the delay in launching the scheme. “Before the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP President JP Nadda assured that in the very first Cabinet meeting, this scheme would be approved, and every eligible woman in Delhi would receive ₹2,500 in her bank account by March 8. The first Cabinet meeting was held on Thursday, but no such announcement was made,” said Atishi, Delhi’s Leader of the Opposition.
The BJP recently returned to power in Delhi after 26 years, securing 48 out of 70 Assembly seats, while AAP’s tally dropped to 22. The Congress failed to win a single seat. MSY was one of the BJP’s key promises in its poll manifesto, and its implementation is expected to be closely watched in the coming months, economy watchers said.
The MSY scheme was a clear counter to AAP’s ‘Mahila Samman Yojana’, which had promised ₹ 2,100 a month for women in the national Capital if it came to power. On its part, the Congress party had promised a cash scheme of ₹2,500 a month for women in the national Capital.