Will increase Ladli Behna Yojana aid to ₹3,000 a month, says Chouhan
The HinduCrediting the first monthly instalment of ₹1,000 into the bank accounts of financially weak women under the Mukyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana on Saturday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that he had plans to increase the assistance to ₹3,000 a month in future. Addressing a gathering at the formal launch of the scheme at Jabalpur’s Garrison Ground, the Chief Minister said he may have started with ₹1,000, but will keep revising the amount upwards in a phased manner “after arranging sufficient funds”. The Opposition Congress soon announced its own scheme called the Nari Samman Yojana, which promises ₹1,500 a month as cash transfer and cooking gas cylinder at a subsidised cost of ₹500 for every beneficiary woman every month, if the party is voted to power in the Assembly election to be held later this year. While the formal announcement of the Congress’ scheme is likely to happen during its national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi’s public meeting, also scheduled in Jabalpur on June 12, the Chief Minister’s “₹3000” announcement is seen as a counter to the Congress’ offer.