Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar Announces New Schemes for Women, Farmers, and More
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the state budget during the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Assembly. He announced the ‘Mukhyanantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme, which will provide Rs 1500 per month to women aged 21 to 60, starting from July 2024. This scheme is inspired by Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna Yojana.
Ajit Pawar also revealed several other initiatives:
- Rs 5000 per hectare bonus for cotton and soybean farmers.
- Rs 5 per litre bonus for milk-producing farmers.
- Increased compensation for deaths due to animal attacks from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 25 lakhs.
- Three free gas cylinders per year for all households under the CM Anna Chhatra Yojana.
- Reduced tax on diesel from 24% to 21% and on petrol from 26% to 25%.
- Support for religious minorities and the third gender under various schemes.
- Increased medical insurance limit from Rs 1.5 lakhs to Rs 5 lakhs and expanded the number of empaneled hospitals from 1000 to 1900.
- Rs 175 for each bamboo plantation and 8 lakh solar pumps for farmers to provide free energy.
The monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly began on June 28 and will continue until July 12. This is the last legislative session before the state assembly elections in the next four months.