Ladki Bahin Shake-Up: e-KYC Drive Knocks Nearly 70 Lakh Women Off Benefit List

Kalpana Kanungo - Mumbai Bureau May 14, 2026 3,000 Views

An e-KYC verification drive under the Ladki Bahin scheme has found nearly 70 lakh women ineligible, sharply pruning the list of beneficiaries in one stroke. The large-scale exclusion raises questions over targeting, data quality and the political fallout of tightening rules on a flagship women-focused cash transfer programme.

Verification Drive Reshapes Beneficiary Base

Under the Ladki Bahin scheme, the state offers monthly financial assistance to eligible women in a defined income and residency bracket. After concerns over duplication and ineligible beneficiaries, the government ran an Aadhaar-linked e-KYC and document verification exercise, which has now reportedly pushed close to 70 lakh women off the active rolls based on income criteria, age, residency or documentation gaps.

Who Loses Out And Why It Matters

Officials argue the clean-up will ensure that only genuinely eligible, poorer women continue to receive the monthly benefit, freeing up fiscal room and improving targeting. However, opposition parties and activists are likely to question whether technical errors, Aadhaar mismatches or documentation hurdles may have wrongly excluded deserving women, especially in rural and informal-sector households with patchy paperwork.

Next Steps And Political Undercurrent

The government is expected to open a grievance redressal and appeal window where women who lost benefits can resubmit documents or correct errors. With the Ladki Bahin scheme a key political plank, how transparently the re-verification process is run, and how quickly wrongful exclusions are fixed, will be crucial ahead of future elections and budget decisions.

Scheme Reality Checks

Nearly 70 lakh women flagged as ineligible after e-KYC and document verification.
Reasons include income above cut-off, age or residency mismatch and missing/incorrect documents.
Government projects this as a targeting clean-up to protect benefits for the poorest women.
Concerns remain over potential wrongful exclusions due to data or Aadhaar errors.
Appeal and grievance mechanisms will be critical to restore trust in the Ladki Bahin scheme.