Whose direct benefit? Cash transfers for women

Sinha, Dipa and Ram S, Vijay (2026) Whose direct benefit? Cash transfers for women. In: Realising right: a handbook of welfare in India. Azim Premji University, Bengaluru, pp. 326-347.

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Abstract

Over the last few years, there has been a tremendous rise in unconditional cash transfer (UCT) schemes targeted at women. Since 2021, seventeen states have introduced them and some estimates suggest that over ₹2 lakh crore was allocated to such schemes in 2024. These initiatives continue to spread and have become a central feature of electoral promises made by political parties in state elections. The debate on cash versus in-kind transfers in India is not new but has recently evolved into a complex and contested one. It is important to examine the various dimensions of this debate and situate this wave of UCTs within its broader policy and political context. This shift in welfare policy raises key questions on implications for financial sustainability and state budgets, public services and human development outcomes, gender relations and women’s economic agency, the state-citizen relationship and the nature of democracy.

Item Type:	Book Section
Authors:	Sinha, Dipa and Ram S, Vijay
Document Language:	Language English
Subjects:	Social sciences > Political Science > Public policy Social sciences > Economics > Macroeconomics & related topics > Factors affecting income and wealth > Poverty Social sciences > Public administration > General considerations of public administration > Public administration of general forms of assistance
Divisions:	Azim Premji University - Bengaluru > University Publications > Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy (CSIE)
Full Text Status:	Public
URI:	http://publications.azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/id/eprint/7642
Publisher URL:	https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/

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