Chandigarh, Jan 1 (IANS) The Haryana Cabinet, presided over by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini here, on Thursday approved significant amendments to the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana of 2025 with the objective of strengthening women’s financial empowerment and promoting long-term savings.

Under the proposed amendments, the monthly benefit under the scheme will remain Rs 2,100 per eligible woman. However, from the second month onwards, the assistance will be released in two parts — Rs 1,100 will be credited directly to the beneficiary’s savings bank account, while Rs 1,000 will be deposited in a government-operated recurring deposit (RD) or fixed deposit (FD) account.

The accumulated amount, along with interest, will be paid to the beneficiary on maturity. The tenure of the RD and FD will be decided by the government and will not exceed five years.

The amendments also propose integration of social development-linked eligibility criteria. In addition to income-based eligibility, mothers whose children studying in government schools have demonstrated academic excellence by securing more than 80 per cent marks in Class 10 or 12 Board examinations, or have achieved grade-level competency under the NIPUN Bharat Mission in Classes 1 to 4, will be considered eligible.

Similarly, mothers who have successfully rehabilitated their children from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) or Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM), as verified by the Women and Child Development Department, will also be covered under the scheme.

Existing criteria related to age and domicile will continue unchanged. The income limit for this additional criterion is extended up to Rs 1.8 lakh as per FIDR.

Aligning objectives of Viksit Bharat to socio economic development and family size, mothers who have more than three children will not be eligible under this category.

To enhance transparency and community participation, the proposed amendments include validation of beneficiaries through local self-governance institutions.

After initial verification, the list of beneficiaries will be shared with concerned Gram Sabhas in rural areas and area sabhas or ward committees in urban areas for community-level validation.

In cases where any beneficiary is found ineligible or non-genuine during validation, the financial assistance will be discontinued.

Notably, the Deen Dayal Lado Lakshmi Yojana was launched on September 25, 2025, to enhance the social security of women in the state. Within two months of its launch, around 10 lakh women registered under the scheme, reflecting its wide acceptance.

The proposed amendments aim to further evolve the scheme from a cash assistance programme into a holistic, outcome-oriented initiative aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat.

The Cabinet also approved the proposal to provide a government job on compassionate grounds to Santosh Kumari, wife of late Sandeep Kumar Lather, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) of police, as a special and as one-time measure. The Cabinet approved appointment to Kumari on the post of PGT Mathematics (Group-B) in the Campus School, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak.

–IANS

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