Lakshmir Bhandar Yojana in West Bengal: the cash scheme and its 2026 change

Lakshmir Bhandar was a monthly income support payment for adult women in lower income households across West Bengal. The idea was simple. A woman in the family received a fixed sum every month straight into her own bank account, with no strings on how she spent it. The money was meant to give homemakers and informal workers a small, steady cushion they could count on. Over five years the amount was raised more than once, the beneficiary list grew to more than two crore women, and in 2026 the programme was rebranded and enlarged under a new name. If you are reading an older leaflet that still says Rs 500 or Rs 1,000, this page brings you up to date.

The single most important thing to get right is the amount, because it has moved several times. Here is the honest history, drawn from the state budget announcements and official notices.

• February 2021 at launch. A woman from a general category household received Rs 500 a month. A woman from a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe household received Rs 1,000 a month.
• From April 2024. The state doubled the lower slab. General category rose to Rs 1,000 a month and the SC or ST slab rose to Rs 1,200 a month. This is the figure most older articles quote.
• February 2026 interim budget. The state announced a further increase of Rs 500 in each slab, taking the general category to Rs 1,500 and the SC or ST category to Rs 1,700 a month.
• From June 2026. The West Bengal government replaced Lakshmir Bhandar with a new scheme called Annapurna Bhandar, which pays a single flat rate of Rs 3,000 a month to every eligible woman, with no separate slab for caste category.

Because the figure has changed this often, treat any single number you see online with care and confirm the rate that applies to your own case on the official portal before you plan around it.

From 1 June 2026 the state government began rolling out Annapurna Bhandar as the successor to Lakshmir Bhandar. Two points matter most for a woman who was already receiving the older payment.

• Automatic migration. If your name was on the Lakshmir Bhandar list, you do not have to apply again. Your record is carried over to Annapurna Bhandar and the payment continues at the new rate. The exception is a small set of records flagged during the state electoral roll review, such as those marked deceased, shifted, deleted, or listed as an absentee elector. If you think your name was wrongly flagged, that is exactly the kind of question you can raise in writing, as described in the RTI section below.
• A higher flat amount. The new scheme pays Rs 3,000 a month to every eligible woman by direct benefit transfer into an Aadhaar linked bank account. The earlier split between a general rate and an SC or ST rate no longer applies under the successor scheme.

For a new applicant who was never on the old list, the door is still open. You apply under Annapurna Bhandar through the official state portal and your local block, sub divisional, or municipal office, following the same broad eligibility test that Lakshmir Bhandar used.

The core test barely changed between the old scheme and the new one, so this checklist holds for both.

• Age 25 to 60. The applicant must be an adult woman within this age band. A woman who crosses 60 is expected to move to an old age pension instead. See our guide to applying for old age pension under NSAP.
• West Bengal resident. You must be a permanent resident of the state, usually shown through a ration card, a voter record, or an Aadhaar with a West Bengal address.
• One woman per household. The benefit is meant for a single woman in a family, not for every adult woman under one roof.
• No regular government income in the family. If a household member holds a permanent government post or draws a regular government salary or pension, the family is outside the scheme. The successor scheme also excludes income tax payers.
• Own bank account. You need a single bank account in your own name, linked to your own Aadhaar, so that the money reaches you and not a relative. Learn more about PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts if you do not yet have one.

A woman can apply whatever her marital status. Married, unmarried, widowed, or separated women are all covered, provided the points above are met. Widowed women may also be eligible for the Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme.

1. Confirm you meet the checklist above. Age, residence, no government income in the family, and a single Aadhaar linked bank account in your own name are the four things officers look at first.
2. Reach the right desk. New applications go through the official state portal for the successor scheme and through a Duare Sarkar camp when one is held near you, or through the Block Development Office in a rural area, the Sub Divisional Office in a town, or the Kolkata Municipal Corporation office in the KMC area.
3. Fill the form and attach proof. You submit a simple form with a self declaration of income and copies of your identity and bank documents. There is no application fee. The scheme is free, and anyone who asks you to pay to enrol is running a scam.
4. Wait for verification. A Block Development Officer in a rural area, a Sub Divisional Officer in a town, or a Kolkata Municipal Corporation officer checks your record. The District Magistrate, or the KMC Commissioner in the city, is the final sanctioning authority.
5. Payment begins. Once your name is approved, the fixed monthly amount is credited to your Aadhaar linked bank account by direct benefit transfer. Keep your passbook updated so you can see the credit each month.

• Payment stopped after June 2026. The switch to the successor scheme can pause a credit for a cycle while records migrate. Check your status on the official portal first. If the record shows an unexplained hold, ask for the reason in writing.
• Name flagged during the electoral roll review. If your record was marked shifted, deleted, or absentee, the payment can stop even though you still live in the state. Correct the underlying roll entry and ask the office to restore your file.
• Bank account not Aadhaar linked. A direct transfer bounces when the account is not seeded with Aadhaar. Visit your bank branch, complete the Aadhaar seeding, and the next cycle should clear.
• A family member has a government job or pension. This keeps the whole family outside the scheme. If the officer applied this wrongly, for example after a member retired without pension, put the facts on record and ask for a review.
• Income tax status. The successor scheme excludes income tax payers. If you were wrongly marked as a taxpayer, share proof of your correct status with the office.

When a portal status or a phone call leads nowhere, a written Right to Information request often gets a stuck file moving, because the public authority then has to answer or explain the delay on record within the statutory timeline. Ask narrow questions such as the present status of your application, the officer handling it, and the reason for any delay or rejection. You can draft one in a few minutes with the AI RTI Drafter, and learn the full filing and appeal route in The RTI Playbook.

Think of a woman in her forties in a small town in West Bengal. She runs the home, helps at a roadside stall, and has no fixed income of her own. Before this scheme, every small expense meant asking someone else for cash, and a sudden need meant borrowing. After she enrolled at a Duare Sarkar camp, a fixed sum began reaching her own bank account each month. It did not change her life overnight, yet it gave her a little money she controlled, for medicines, school costs, or a rainy day. When the amount was raised over the years, and again under the successor scheme in 2026, that monthly cushion grew with it. This is the kind of steady, predictable support the programme was built to give.

Lakshmir Bhandar was launched in February 2021 by the Government of West Bengal, run by the state Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, to give a small monthly cash benefit to adult women in lower income households. From June 2026 the state government replaced it with the Annapurna Bhandar scheme at a higher flat rate. You can see this programme next to every other central and state welfare scheme on the full Sarkari Yojana index for 2014 to 2026.

Many beneficiaries want to verify whether their name is on the active list and whether the latest payment has been credited. Here is the step-by-step method.

1. Visit the official portal. Go to socialsecurity.wb.gov.in, the portal run by the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal. Do not use any third-party website that asks for your Aadhaar number or bank details.
2. Find the beneficiary status or payment status link. Look for a section labelled “Beneficiary List”, “Payment Status”, or “Annapurna Bhandar Status” on the home page. The exact label may change as the portal is updated.
3. Enter your details. You typically need your registered mobile number or Aadhaar number, and sometimes your application or reference number. Enter the details exactly as they appear on your application form.
4. Read the result. The portal will show one of several statuses: Active (your name is on the list and payment is being processed), Pending verification (your application is under review), Rejected (with a reason, if available), or Payment credited (with the date and amount).
5. If the portal shows no record. This can happen if your application was submitted at a Duare Sarkar camp and the data has not yet been digitised. Visit your Block Development Office or Sub Divisional Office with your acknowledgement receipt and ask them to check the internal system.

For broader guidance on checking welfare scheme status, see our status check guide for women's schemes or the Ladli Behna status check walkthrough, which follow a similar process.

The payment is made monthly by direct benefit transfer into the Aadhaar-linked bank account of each beneficiary. Here is what we know about the schedule.

• Payment cycle. The amount is credited once a month. The credit usually lands in the bank account between the 8th and the 15th of the month, though this can shift depending on bank processing and public holidays.
• Annapurna Bhandar from June 2026. Under the new scheme, the state government has committed to a fixed monthly cycle. The first payments under Annapurna Bhandar began from June 2026. If your payment was delayed during the transition months of June and July 2026, this is likely due to the migration of records from the old system.
• Quarterly disbursement in some blocks. In certain rural blocks, the BDO processes disbursements in batches every quarter rather than every month. If you receive two or three months' payment together, that is normal for your block.
• Bank holidays and Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) cycles. The actual credit date depends on the APB settlement cycle run by NPCI and your bank's processing time. If the 15th falls on a weekend or bank holiday, expect the credit on the next working day.

Tip: Note down the date each credit arrives in your passbook. If the gap exceeds 45 days from the last credit, treat it as a delay worth following up on.

Under the original Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, women from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) households received a higher monthly amount than women from general category households. Here is how the category benefit worked and what happens now.

• Category proof. Under the older scheme, an SC or ST applicant had to submit a valid caste certificate issued by a competent authority to claim the higher slab. If the certificate was missing, the application defaulted to the general category rate.
• Under Annapurna Bhandar. The successor scheme pays a single flat Rs 3,000 to every eligible woman regardless of caste category. The caste certificate is no longer needed for the purpose of the monthly amount, though it may still be relevant for other state welfare programmes. See our broader guide to women's social welfare schemes in India.

If your monthly payment has stopped or never arrived, work through this checklist in order. Each step narrows down the cause.

1. Step 1: Check the official portal. Visit socialsecurity.wb.gov.in and enter your details. If the status shows Active, the payment is in process — wait for the next APB cycle. If it shows Pending or Rejected, note the reason displayed.
2. Step 2: Check your bank passbook. Has the credit actually arrived? Sometimes the portal shows “paid” but the bank has not yet posted it. Wait 3-5 working days after the portal shows payment.
3. Step 3: Verify Aadhaar-bank linking. This is the single most common reason for a bounced DBT payment. Dial 99*99# from your registered mobile (USSD) or visit your bank branch to confirm your Aadhaar is seeded to your bank account. See also our guide on checking your Aadhaar update status.
4. Step 4: Check if your name was flagged in the electoral roll review. If your voter record was marked as shifted, deleted, or absentee, your Lakshmir Bhandar / Annapurna Bhandar record may have been paused. Correct the voter roll entry first, then ask the BDO or SDO to restore your file.
5. Step 5: Check for a government income flag. If any household member was found to hold a permanent government job or draw a government pension, the whole family is excluded. Verify this is not an error — for example, a family member who retired without pension should not trigger exclusion.
6. Step 6: Check income taxpayer status. The successor scheme excludes income tax payers. If you were wrongly marked as a taxpayer, submit proof of your correct status to the office.
7. Step 7: Visit your Block Development Office or SDO. Take your application acknowledgement, Aadhaar card, bank passbook, and any status printout from the portal. Ask the dealing assistant to check the internal payment dashboard.
8. Step 8: File a written grievance. Submit a written complaint to the BDO (rural) or SDO (urban). Keep a stamped copy as proof. If there is no response within 30 days, escalate to the District Magistrate.
9. Step 9: File an RTI. If the written grievance leads nowhere, a Right to Information application forces a written response within 30 days. See the dedicated section below on filing an RTI for payment delays.

For related banking complaints, see our guide on what to do when your bank account is frozen.

Lakshmir Bhandar (now Annapurna Bhandar) is one of several state-level monthly cash benefit schemes for women launched across India since 2021. Here is how it compares.

• West Bengal pays the highest flat monthly rate among these schemes at Rs 3,000 per month under Annapurna Bhandar, significantly above the Rs 1,000-2,000 range seen in most other states.
• Age band comparison. West Bengal's 25-60 band is narrower than Maharashtra's 21-65 or MP's 21-60. A woman aged 21-24 in West Bengal is not eligible, unlike in Maharashtra.
• Automatic migration. West Bengal is the only state among these that replaced its existing women's cash scheme with a higher-paying successor and migrated beneficiaries automatically without requiring a fresh application.
• For the full list of central and state schemes, see the Sarkari Yojana index and our overview of women's social welfare schemes across India.

When repeated visits to the Block Development Office or Sub Divisional Office yield no result, a Right to Information application is the most effective legal tool to get a written answer. Here is how to do it for this scheme.

1. Identify the Public Information Officer (PIO). For Lakshmir Bhandar / Annapurna Bhandar, the PIO sits under the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal. At the district level, address your RTI to the PIO c/o the District Magistrate's office or the District Social Welfare Officer.
2. Draft narrow, specific questions. Ask things like:
   • “What is the present status of my Lakshmir Bhandar / Annapurna Bhandar application bearing reference number [your number]?”
   • “Name and designation of the officer processing my application.”
   • “If my payment has been delayed or stopped, what is the specific reason recorded in the file?”
   • “On what date was my last payment credited, and what is the amount?”
   • “What documents or actions are required from me to restore my active beneficiary status?”
3. Pay the fee. The RTI application fee is Rs 10 for citizens below the poverty line (BPL) — in fact BPL applicants are exempt upon producing a BPL certificate. For others, the fee is Rs 10, payable by Indian Postal Order, court fee stamp, or online through the state RTI portal.
4. Submit it. You can file in person at the PIO's office, by registered post, or online through the West Bengal RTI portal if available. Keep your stamped copy or postal receipt as proof.
5. Timeline. The PIO must reply within 30 days (48 hours if the question concerns life or liberty). If no reply comes, or the reply is unsatisfactory, file a first appeal within 30 days to the First Appellate Authority, which is usually a senior officer in the same department.
6. Drafting help. Use the AI RTI Drafter to generate your application in minutes. Learn the full procedure in The RTI Playbook. You can also read our guide on using AI to draft your RTI.

West Bengal has 23 districts. The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme covered all districts, with the highest beneficiary counts in the more populous districts. Below is a district-wise guide showing where to apply and whom to contact for each of the top 10 districts by estimated beneficiary coverage.

Notes on the district-wise table:

• In every district, the Block Development Officer (BDO) is the first point of contact for rural applicants, and the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) is the first point for urban applicants outside the KMC area.
• In the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area, applications and grievances are handled through KMC ward offices, with the KMC Commissioner as the final sanctioning authority.
• The District Magistrate (DM) is the final sanctioning authority at the district level and the escalation point for unresolved grievances.
• The District Social Welfare Officer in each district supports the implementation and can be contacted for scheme-specific queries.
• Beneficiary counts by district are not published in full on the public portal. If you need the exact number for a specific district, this is a valid RTI question — ask the PIO for the district-wise beneficiary count as on a specific date.

The entire payment system runs on the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) platform, which depends on your bank account being correctly linked to your Aadhaar number. Here is what every beneficiary should understand.

• What is Aadhaar seeding? Seeding means your Aadhaar number is recorded against your bank account in the bank's core banking system and on the NPCI mapper. When the government sends a DBT payment, the system uses your Aadhaar number to route the money to the correct bank account through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB).
• How to check if your account is seeded. Dial 99*99# from the mobile number registered with your bank. You can also visit your bank branch or use your bank's mobile app / internet banking to check the Aadhaar linking status. See our guide on how to check Aadhaar update status and how to file an RTI for Aadhaar status.
• What happens if the account is not seeded. The DBT payment bounces. The money is returned to the government's account and your payment is marked as “failed” or “returned” in the system. You will not receive the money until you complete the seeding.
• How to seed Aadhaar to your bank account. Visit your bank branch with your Aadhaar card and bank passbook. Fill the Aadhaar seeding consent form (usually a one-page form). The bank updates its system and the NPCI mapper. This can take 7-15 working days to reflect on the APB platform.
• Only one account receives the payment. If you have multiple bank accounts, the DBT goes to the account you have designated as your NPCI mapper-linked account. If you want to change the receiving account, submit a fresh mapping request at the new bank branch.
• PM Jan Dhan accounts work too. If you do not have a regular savings account, a zero-balance PM Jan Dhan Yojana account is sufficient for receiving DBT payments. These accounts are free and can be opened at any public sector bank.
• Do not share your OTP or Aadhaar OTP with anyone. DBT fraud often starts with a scammer calling and asking for an “Aadhaar OTP” to “verify” your payment. No genuine official will ever ask for this. See our guide on Aadhaar Enabled Payment System fraud recovery if you suspect fraud.

From June 2026 the successor scheme, Annapurna Bhandar, pays Rs 3,000 a month to every eligible woman. Under the older Lakshmir Bhandar name the amount was Rs 1,500 for general category and Rs 1,700 for SC or ST women, after the February 2026 increase. Confirm the current rate on the official portal at socialsecurity.wb.gov.in.

No, if you were already on the Lakshmir Bhandar list. Existing beneficiaries are migrated to Annapurna Bhandar automatically, except for a small set of records flagged during the electoral roll review. A woman who was never enrolled applies fresh under the new scheme.

Yes. A woman can apply whatever her marital status, as long as she meets the age, residence, and household income conditions.

The applicant must be aged 25 to 60. A woman above 60 is expected to move to an old age pension instead. See our guide to applying for old age pension under NSAP.

No. The scheme is free. If anyone asks for money to make your application, refuse and report it.

Common reasons are a record flagged during the roll review, a bank account not linked to Aadhaar, or a family member being found to hold a government job or pension. Check the portal status, fix the cause, and if the reason is unclear ask for it in writing. Follow the full troubleshooting guide above.

Dial 99*99# from your registered mobile, or visit your bank branch. You can also check through your bank's mobile app. If it is not linked, submit the Aadhaar seeding consent form at your branch. See our Aadhaar update status guide for details.

The payment is usually credited between the 8th and 15th of each month by direct benefit transfer. In some rural blocks, disbursements may happen quarterly. If more than 45 days pass without a credit, treat it as a delay and follow up. See the payment schedule section above.

Yes. A zero-balance PM Jan Dhan Yojana account is sufficient for receiving DBT payments, as long as it is Aadhaar-linked and mapped on the NPCI mapper.

Submit a written grievance to your BDO or SDO with supporting documents (Aadhaar, bank passbook, residence proof, and any acknowledgement receipt). Keep a stamped copy. If there is no response in 30 days, file an RTI. Follow the RTI filing guide above.

You can contact the West Bengal government's welfare helpline or visit the official portal at socialsecurity.wb.gov.in for contact details of your district social welfare officer. For DBT-related issues, the central DBT portal at dbtbharat.gov.in also provides grievance redressal links.

• Ladki Bahin Yojana for women in Maharashtra
• Ladli Behna Yojana in Madhya Pradesh
• Gruha Lakshmi cash support in Karnataka
• Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai in Tamil Nadu
• Orunodoi cash benefit for women in Assam
• Mahila Samman Savings Certificate
• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana for a girl child
• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana for mothers
• PM Jan Dhan Yojana for zero-balance bank accounts
• PM Ujjwala Yojana for free LPG connections
• Atal Pension Yojana for retirement savings
• Women's social welfare schemes across India
• Women at work: rights under new labour codes
• Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme
• Old age pension under NSAP
• Bhagyalakshmi Yojana status check
• Subhadra Yojana status in Odisha

• Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal — Official portal for Lakshmir Bhandar and Annapurna Bhandar: socialsecurity.wb.gov.in
• National Portal of India — West Bengal Lakshmir Bhandar scheme overview: india.gov.in
• DBT Bharat Portal — Direct Benefit Transfer mission, Government of India: dbtbharat.gov.in
• UIDAI — Aadhaar seeding and bank linking guidelines: uidai.gov.in
• NPCI — Aadhaar Payment Bridge (APB) system information: npci.org.in
• Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India — West Bengal 2026-27 interim budget announcements on Lakshmir Bhandar increase: pib.gov.in
• Government of West Bengal — Official state portal: wb.gov.in
• News on AIR — West Bengal to roll out Annapurna scheme with Rs 3,000 monthly aid for women from 1 June 2026
• West Bengal 2026-27 interim budget — Lakshmir Bhandar increase to Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,700

Last reviewed: 10 July 2026.

Reviewed by Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak, RTI Wiki editorial team. This article is maintained and updated regularly. If you find an error or have a correction, please contact the editorial team through the RTI Wiki feedback channels.