Study of Cash Benefit Transfer Schemes in Women’s Accounts in Different States

The status of women-centric transfer schemes implemented by various state governments for empowering women, providing economic independence, increasing economic participation and other purposes and their impact on financial inclusion of state governments have been studied. 13 crore 40 lakh women are getting the benefit of direct benefit transfer, women are being given the benefit of direct cash transfer at different rates in 14 states, cash transfer accounts for 3-12% of the state revenue which is more than Rs 2.11 lakh crore. To attract women voters in the elections, the benefit of cash transfer of Rs 1000 to Rs 2500 per month is being given, the tsunami of women-centric direct benefit transfer can have a bad effect on the financial health of states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Gujarat, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Assam, Hariyana and Himachal Pradesh. A large part of the revenue receipts is being spent on direct benefit transfer due to which other effective schemes are getting overshadowed.