Delhi Lakshmi Yojana Gets 9.13 Lakh Women Registrations

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 26 August 2026

The Delhi Lakshmi Yojana has received 9,13,495 registrations, with 6,52,223 applications formally submitted, ahead of its official launch on August 26. The financial assistance scheme being managed by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta is to empower the women and enhance their financial autonomy and economic security in the national capital.

The scheme will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at Talkatora Stadium where sanction letters will be given to around 4,000 beneficiary women. The scheme would provide Rs 2,500 to each eligible woman monthly directly into their bank accounts using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The first installment will be credited from the 1st of September.

The scheme opened for registrations on August 1 after Rekha Gupta launched the registration portal. The overwhelming response that rolled in within one month underscores the need for government programs geared towards financial empowerment, economic inclusion and social security for women.

 Key Highlights

• Delhi Lakshmi Yojana records over 9.13 lakh registrations
• More than 6.52 lakh applications formally submitted
• Eligible women to receive Rs 2,500 monthly from September

The Delhi government has budgeted Rs 5,100 crore for this. The financial help is to help women pay their necessary expenses like medicines, education, household, etc., and to help them save money for their personal use.

Rekha Gupta has made it a significant move to build the economic empowerment of women. “The initiative is part of the government's efforts to provide women with increased financial security, dignity and self-reliance”, said the Chief Minister.

The scheme was earlier called the Mahila Samriddhi Yojana and it was also approved by the Delhi Cabinet with the same financial allocation in the month of March 2025. It was then renamed as Delhi Lakshmi Yojana in accordance with the government's overall thrust to empower women under its 'Nari Sashaktikaran' initiative.

The scheme will be directed for eligible women who are under certain age limit, income limit, residency limit and other conditions. Some of the eligibility criteria include the age range of 21 to 60 years and an annual income for the family should not exceed Rs 2.5 lakh. There are also a number of exclusions, such as some government workers, income tax payers, pensioners and households that have low financial or other thresholds.

There have been some legal challenges to the initiative regarding some of the eligibility and registration requirements, however. Petitioners have challenged the need for an MP/MLA endorsement at the time of registering a scheme, saying it is problematic for the women who wish to avail of the scheme.

Others challenged are the 10-year rule of continuous residence in Delhi, the criterion of family size and electricity consumption, the condition of accessing benefits only to the eldest eligible woman in a family and the exclusion of people with certain criminal records.

The initiative, which is likely to have a major impact on the Delhi government's program of women empowerment, financial inclusion and social welfare, will be rolled out in parts over the coming months, with the first phase in September.

The number of participation before the launch also brings into focus the efficiency of the Government in verifying applications and providing the promised assistance to eligible women through the DBT mechanism.