Delhi Lakshmi Yojana 2026: Great news for the women of Delhi! Name of ‘Mahila Samriddhi Yojana’ changed, now ₹ 2,500 will be given every month from Rakshabandhan; Know the new rule of ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’

A very big and historic decision has been taken in Delhi towards making the women of economically weaker section empowered and self-reliant. The Delhi government has made two big and important changes regarding its very ambitious ‘Mahila Samridhi Yojana’, which provides financial assistance to women every month. The first change is that the name of this government scheme has now been changed to ‘Delhi Lakshmi Yojana’. Secondly, a target has been set to increase the financial assistance provided to eligible women under this scheme to ₹ 2,500 per month, which will see a big improvement in the standard of living of about 17 lakh women of Delhi. When will ‘Delhi Lakshmi Yojana’ start and who will get the benefit? Initially, this welfare scheme was announced by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, but due to some reasons it could not be implemented at that time. After this, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also made a major promise of providing financial assistance to women every month in its ‘Sankalp Patra’ (manifesto) during the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. At present, the government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has now started making final preparations to put this scheme on the ground. Possible launch: According to media reports and administrative sources, the Delhi government is aiming to implement this scheme around the holy festival of Rakshabandhan in August 2026, so that this special gift can be given to women on the occasion of the festival. However, its exact launch date is yet to be officially announced. Eligibility and Eligibility Rules: The following basic conditions can be set to avail the benefits of this scheme: The age of the female applicant should be between 21 to 60 years. The woman should be a permanent resident of Delhi for at least the last 10 years and belong to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). The total annual income of the woman’s family should not exceed ₹ 2.5 lakh. What is the government’s stance regarding important documents? Many women are confused as to what documents need to be kept ready for online or offline application of this scheme. The Social Welfare Department of Delhi Government has not yet released any official or final list of documents required for the application. Administrative officials say that when the launch date of the scheme will be announced just before Rakshabandhan, at the same time the detailed guidelines and checklist of necessary documents will also be made live on the portal. ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’ will be mandatory from August 1; Old paper tickets will be discontinued. A very important and strong warning related to DTC buses has come out for the women passengers traveling daily in Delhi. Making a major change in the rules of the free bus travel scheme for women, the Delhi government has decided to make ‘Pink Saheli Smart Card’ completely mandatory from August 1, 2026. Last date is 31st July: Presently the paper pink tickets given by the conductors for free travel to women will remain valid only till 31st July 2026. After August 1, if any woman does not have a digital Pink Saheli Smart Card, then she will not be able to avail the benefit of free travel in buses and will have to buy a normal ticket. Linkage to One Nation, One Card: This new digital card is being prepared under the central government’s master scheme ‘One Nation, One Card’. The biggest feature of this card will be that through it only and only legitimate female residents of Delhi will be able to avail the facility of free travel in DTC and cluster buses, due to which frauds and loss of revenue can be completely curbed.