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Over 14,000 men pose as women to claim aid in India
Maharashtra's Ladki Bahin Yojana, meant to support low-income women with ₹1,500 a month, has been rocked by a major scam.
Since its launch in August 2024, over 14,298 men managed to pose as women and pocketed a total of ₹21.44 crore using fake identities.
Probe found double-dipping from this and another aid program
The state government is digging into how these men slipped through the system.
On top of that, about 2,652 government-employed women—who weren't eligible—also claimed ₹3.58 crore.
The probe found nearly 7.7 lakh women were double-dipping from this and another aid program at the same time, so their payments have been paused for now.
To tighten things up going forward, officials will start using income tax data to screen applicants more carefully.