Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday launched the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana and opened registrations for the scheme, under which eligible women will receive ₹2,500 a month. Applications can be submitted through the portal, www.dly.delhi.gov.in. 

Launching the scheme at the office of the District Magistrate in East Delhi, Ms. Gupta said beneficiaries could choose between two modes of assistance. Under the first, ₹1,000 will be credited to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) wallet for day-to-day expenses and the remaining ₹1,500 deposited in a recurring deposit (RD) or fixed deposit (FD). Under the second, the entire amount will be deposited in an RD or FD.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), between 6.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, 33,730 registrations were completed after the portal went live. Of these, 1,940 applications were submitted and 9,170 were awaiting MLA recommendation. Sources said the recommendation was intended to verify that applicants belonged to the constituency concerned and to avoid discrepancies.

The government expects around 17 lakh women to benefit from the scheme.

“When we made this promise to you, it was not just an announcement, but a resolve for your happiness, your honour and your better future. Today, we have the good fortune to fulfil that resolve,” said the Chief Minister.

Eligibility criteria 
Applicants must be women aged between 21 and 60 and the eldest female member of the family. The annual family income should not exceed ₹2.5 lakh, and the applicant must be a registered voter. Either the applicant, her husband or either of her parents must have been a resident of Delhi for at least 10 years. 

The family’s annual electricity consumption should not exceed 2,400 units. Neither the applicant nor any family member should own a four-wheeler. The applicant should have no more than three children and should not have a criminal record.

According to the CMO, applications will undergo a four-stage verification process before approval. They will first be scrutinised by the District Programme Management Unit, followed by verification by the District Women and Child Development Officer, before being reviewed by the district-level Approval, Monitoring and Grievance Redressal Committee.

The government said financial assistance cannot be spent on alcohol, tobacco, narcotic substances, lottery tickets, gambling, betting or any other goods and services prohibited by the government.

Concern over documentation 
While many women welcomed the initiative, some expressed concern over the documentation and verification requirements. 

Kamla Mandoria, 58, who has been running a tea stall in Shadipur Main Market for past several decades, said the success of the scheme would depend on whether the assistance reached poor women without bureaucratic hurdles.

“I’ve lived through many such schemes. The announcement is not the problem, the money getting to poor women is. Paperwork is complicated, middlemen interfere, and many deserving women are left without any support,” she said.

Sunali, who supports her children through sex work, said women in informal and precarious occupations often lacked the documents required to establish eligibility.

“I don’t have formal employment. They ask for proof of income, proof of residence and other paperwork, but many of us don’t have even salary slips. The hardest part isn’t making ends meet; it’s proving that we deserve help. Many women living on the margins will never receive the benefit,” she said.

Published - August 02, 2026 01:03 am IST