85.6% Women Surveyed Think State’s Lakshmir Bhandar Empowered Them
As many as 85.6% of women surveyed as part of a pan-Bengal study felt that the cash incentive from Bengal govt’s Lakshmir Bhandar scheme had empowered them. The money in hand had encouraged and enabled them to get more involved in domestic decision-making, these women told Pratichi Trust – set up by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen – which recently carried out a survey across the state.
The Lakshmir Bhandar scheme, introduced in 2021, provides cash assistance to women between 25 and 60 years of age: it was initially Rs 500 to those from the general category and Rs 1,000 to those from SC/ST families per month, but increased to Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200, respectively, weeks before the Lok Sabha elections were announced. Multiple women per household are entitled to the cash.
The survey by Pratichi Trust used two methods: quantitative and qualitative. The 85.6% figure was obtained in the first method, in which 1,500 women were surveyed. The latter, the ‘qualitative’ method, involved in-depth interviews and case studies with 189 women, according to the trust. Approximately 2.5 crore women avail themselves of this cash payout, according to govt figures.
The majority of the women in the quantitative study – 61.1% – felt Lakshmir Bhandar had enhanced their position in the household, with the monthly payout providing them financial security. Interestingly, 6.3% of the women also said that the money had allowed them to think about and take some steps towards investing in various small business ventures of their own, mainly related to farming.
Regular monthly cash flow helped reduce insecurity’
Most of the women beneficiaries of Lakshmir Bhandar – 75.9% – said they had been spending the allowance to meet family expenditure: 41.8% towards their children’s education and 34% to buy medicines.
“Since money is credited directly to their account, it gives women some added voice regarding how to spend it, though this choice is sometimes restricted due to poverty,” said Sabir Ahagmed, national research coordinator of Pratichi Trust. “This points toward a certain improvement in what Amartya Sen has termed ‘agency freedom’. For instance, around 35.3% beneficiaries chose not to use the allowance toward family expenses but for personal needs.”
Most women said the amount was “small”, although they admitted that the regular monthly flow of cash had reduced insecurity and, in some cases, their sense of self- worth and confidence. As many as 86.5% women believe they would benefit if Lakshmir Bhandar continued for another five years.
Nandini Ghosh, assistant professor of sociology at Institute of Development Studies, Kolkata, felt that no matter how “meagre or small” the amount was, it had helped women “to dream”. “This amount is their own, so women are using it the way they want to fulfil their wishes. Lakshmir Bhandar has accorded the promise of dreams to women from modest backgrounds,” she added.
Ahamed said one of the recommendations of the study had been to bridge the monetary payout between different social groups, which govt had heeded – for example, the pay difference between women from the general category and those from SC/ST households had been narrowed down from Rs 500 to Rs 200, with the increased pay.
“Since women are the vulnerable section of the society and most of them are not working, this cash transfer scheme is justified from the equity perspective,” said CU economics professor Arijita Dutta.
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