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Akhilesh Yadav announces ‘Stree Samman Samridhi Yojana’: Under the scheme, women will be given mobile phones for free. No exact amount has been announced for the scheme so far
Akhilesh Yadav seen interacting with women voters from UP. (PTI File)
In a major promise, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has announced that he will start a cash transfer scheme for women if his party comes to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2027.
Yadav has promised a ‘Stree Samman Samridhi Yojana’, under which women will also be given mobile phones for free. No exact amount has been announced for the women’s scheme so far.
Uttar Pradesh is the most populous state in the country and there is presently no woman cash transfer scheme offered in the state. There are projected to be nearly 10 crore women in UP between the age of 18 and 60.
Yadav seems to have taken a cue from Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD) Tejashwi Yadav who has also promised a woman transfer scheme in Bihar if his party comes to power in the state later this year.
हम 2027 में ‘स्त्री सम्मान-समृद्धि योजना’ लाएंगेऔर हर बालिका, युवती, नारी को सबल बनाएंगे! pic.twitter.com/2IYZc6zJRY— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 3, 2025
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed to power in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh after promising a similar women cash transfer scheme, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) won in Jharkhand by operationalising a similar scheme as well.
The SP says the women’s cash transfer scheme will help women tide over inflation and rising prices of essential food items. The party has promised a direct cash transfer to women, a free mobile phone set for women and girls, laptops for promising girl students, and jobs for women belonging to the weaker sections of society.
The SP has been out of power in Uttar Pradesh since 2017, with Yogi Adityanath becoming the chief minister that year and winning power again in 2022. However, the BJP suffered a setback in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections when SP won 37 out of the 80 seats in the state.
