Mumbai, April 1: Around 68 lakh accounts out of a total of 2.43 crore under Maharashtra’s flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana have been permanently closed after failing to complete the mandatory e-KYC process. While the original deadline for completing e-KYC was March 31, it has now been extended to April 30, which could still impact the final number of active accounts. Following the scrutiny, the state currently has around 1.75 crore active beneficiaries under the scheme.

The state government releases approximately Rs 3,700 crore every month for nearly 2.25 crore beneficiaries, with each eligible woman receiving Rs 1,500 per month. Ladki Bahin Yojana E-KYC Last Date: INR 1,500 Payment at Risk if You Skip March 31 Deadline.

With the reduction in the number of beneficiaries, the monthly outgo is expected to decline. The government, in the Budget for 2026-27, has also reduced the allocation for the Ladki Bahin Yojana to Rs 26,000 crore from Rs 36,000 crore in 2025-26.

The e-KYC exercise was undertaken following complaints that ineligible beneficiaries, including male members and some government employees, were receiving benefits under the scheme. The e-KYC process has seen multiple extensions -- initially in November 2025, then December 2025, followed by March 2026, and now up to April 30, 2026. Ladki Bahin Yojana February 2026 Installment Date: Know When Will Maharashtra Women Beneficiaries Receive INR 1,500.

The Ladki Bahin Yojana was launched by the Mahayuti government ahead of the Assembly elections held in November 2024. Under the scheme, eligible women receive a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,500. Despite concerns over the fiscal burden, the scheme is widely seen as a key factor behind the Mahayuti government’s electoral victory.

Earlier, a wrongly framed question during the e-KYC process led to confusion among beneficiaries, resulting in over 24 lakh accounts being flagged as belonging to government employees and their payments being halted. The Marathi question -- “Tumchya gharatle koni sarkari nokrit nahi na?” (“Nobody in your family works for the government, right?”) -- was reportedly misinterpreted.

Beneficiaries who were expected to respond in the negative are said to have answered in the affirmative due to the wording. Following scrutiny, around 20 lakh of these accounts have been found to be genuine, while verification of the remaining cases is still underway.

Despite instances of ineligible beneficiaries receiving funds, the government has taken a policy decision not to recover the amount disbursed. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have repeatedly stated that the scheme will not be discontinued.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2026 08:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).