Cash transfers at scale: What these schemes reveal about governance in India

In 2025 it is estimated that 13 crore women will receive a total of INR 2 lakh crores as cash transfers! Since 2020, 14 states have launched and promised to launch cash transfer programs designed to increase women's financial autonomy.

- ANKUR BANSAL

In a country where governance has often struggled to keep pace with its promises, the recent rollout of cash transfer schemes for women has set an audacious benchmark: efficiency with precision.In 2025, it is estimated that 13 crore women will receive a total of INR 2 lakh crores as cash transfers! Since 2020, 14 states have launched and promised to launch cash transfer programs designed to increase women's financial autonomy.

There is extensive evidence of the empowering effects of providing cash transfers which enhance women's control over financial resources. Such transfers not only lead to an increase in households' assets, consumption, and food security, but also have deep psychological benefits such as increased happiness and life satisfaction, and reduction in stress, worries, and depression. As such, unconditional cash transfers are directly linked to women empowerment.

Interestingly, several of these schemes, including in MP, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, have been launched in the weeks leading up to or following elections, which has required a rapid rollout. The need for quick, population-scale rollouts while minimizing errors and leakage presents a significant governance challenge.

To do this, states have to register, verify, and disburse funds to crores of beneficiaries without compromising accuracy. This is no small feat. In Maharashtra, 1.8 crore women applied for Ladki Bahin Yojana in 25 days. Karnataka registered 1.33 crore verified beneficiaries between the announcement of the Gruha Lakshmi scheme on July 15, 2023, and the release of the first payment on August 30, 2023. In West Bengal, over 1 crore women applied in 8 days.

This would have been unimaginable even 10 years ago where benefit transfers were less targeted, often reaching only a fraction of the intended beneficiaries and facing challenges like delay, fraud, and leakage.