Major Women-Centric Welfare Schemes in India

India has launched several women-centric welfare schemes to improve safety, health, education, financial inclusion, and livelihood opportunities. These schemes combine direct assistance with long-term empowerment through skill-building, social protection, and entrepreneurship support.

Mission Shakti: Safety, Protection, and Empowerment

The Ministry of Women and Child Development runs Mission Shakti as an umbrella scheme for women’s welfare across the life cycle. It has two sub-schemes:

Sambal Sub-Scheme

This component focuses on safety and security.

• One Stop Centres (OSC): Integrated support for women facing violence, including medical aid, legal counsel, temporary shelter, and psychological assistance.
• Women Helpline (WHL): A 24-hour toll-free emergency service through 181.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP): Aims to prevent gender-biased sex selection and promote survival, protection, and education of the girl child.
• Nari Adalats: Local women collectives that promote alternative dispute resolution and grassroots access to justice.

Samarthya Sub-Scheme

This component focuses on economic and social empowerment of women.

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Provides maternity benefits.
• Shakti Sadan: Replaces the earlier Swadhar Greh and Ujjawala schemes to provide rehabilitation homes for women in difficult circumstances and trafficking survivors.
• Sakhi Niwas: Working women hostels offering safe and affordable lodging.
• Palna: National creche scheme for day-care facilities for children of working mothers.
• Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW): Also called Sankalp, it works as a single-window system at national, state, and district levels for access to government services.

Livelihood and Entrepreneurship Initiatives

Economic self-reliance remains a key part of women’s empowerment in India. Several schemes support skill development and enterprise creation.

Lakhpati Didi Scheme

• Implementing agency: Ministry of Rural Development under DAY-NRLM.
• Objective: Enable rural women in Self-Help Groups (SHGs) to earn a sustainable annual income of at least ₹1 lakh.
• Training areas: Drone repair, solar panel installation, plumbing, and LED bulb making.
• Target: 3 crore women, with further expansion up to 6 crore women by 2029.

Namo Drone Didi Scheme

• Type: Central sector scheme with an outlay of ₹1,261 crore.
• Purpose: Provide drones to women SHGs for rental spraying services of fertilizers and pesticides.
• Financial support: 80% of drone cost, capped at ₹8 lakh.
• Training: A 15-day module for selected women as certified drone pilots.

Stand-Up India Scheme

• Administered by: Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance.
• Target group: Women and Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes entrepreneurs.
• Loan range: ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for at least one woman borrower in every bank branch of scheduled commercial banks.
• Use of loan: Only for greenfield enterprises in manufacturing, services, trading, or agricultural allied sectors.
• Margin money: Up to 15% of the project cost.

Health, Nutrition, and Social Security

These schemes address maternal health, clean cooking fuel, and financial support for women.

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)

• Legal basis: Maternity benefit scheme under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.
• Benefit: Cash incentive through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
• First living child: ₹5,000 in two installments.
• Second child (if girl): ₹6,000 in a single installment.
• Exclusion: Women in regular government employment or public sector undertakings are not eligible.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)

• Objective: Provide clean cooking fuel through deposit-free LPG connections to adult women from poor households.
• Subsidy: ₹300 per 14.2 kg cylinder.
• Refill limit: Up to four subsidized refills per year per beneficiary.
• Additional support: ₹1,600, along with a free first refill and gas stove.

Financial Savings Schemes

Small savings schemes help women and girl children build long-term financial security.

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

• Purpose: To meet education and marriage expenses of girl children.
• Account opening: By a parent or legal guardian in the name of a girl child below 10 years.
• Minimum deposit: ₹250 per year.
• Maximum deposit: ₹1.5 lakh per financial year.
• Interest rate: 8.2% per annum.
• Tax benefit: Eligible under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act.
• Maturity: 21 years from account opening or upon marriage of the girl child after 18 years of age.

Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC)

• Interest rate: 7.5% per annum, compounded quarterly.
• Deposit limit: Up to ₹2 lakh in the name of a woman or girl child.
• Tenure: 2 years.
• Partial withdrawal: Up to 40% of the eligible balance after completion of one year.

Quick Comparison of Key Schemes

Recent Context

The Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, earlier known as Mahila Samriddhi Yojana, was launched in 2026 to support eligible women through monthly assistance. The scheme uses DBT-linked targeting, with part of the payout locked for savings and the rest credited digitally.

Rare Facts for Prelims

181 is the Women Helpline number under Mission Shakti.

PMMVY gives a higher benefit for the birth of a second child only if the child is a girl.

MSSC is a fixed-tenure savings scheme of just 2 years, unlike most long-term small savings schemes.

SSY accounts can be opened only before the girl child turns 10.

Namo Drone Didi is designed not only for ownership but also for rental-based agricultural services.

Under Stand-Up India, loans are meant only for greenfield enterprises, not existing units.