As the Ladki Bahin scheme encounters challenges, Mumbai Bank has stepped forward with a new initiative to assist women beneficiaries. Under the guidance of BJP leader Pravin Darekar, the bank has introduced zero per cent interest loans for recipients of the Chief Minister’s Ladki Bahin Yojana, which was formally launched on September 4. The inauguration also marked the rollout of the bank’s QR code service. The event was hosted at Mumbai Bank’s head office auditorium in Fort, where the institution’s chairman and MLA, Pravin Darekar, was present.
Speaking at the press conference, BJP leader Pravin Darekar stated, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke to the beloved sister who was present at the program of providing a loan to her beloved sister at zero percent interest from Mumbai Bank. The Maharashtra government has introduced a scheme called Ladki Bahini Yojana to provide one and a half thousand rupees per month to women sisters to improve their financial condition and ensure their all-round development. They can invest that one and a half thousand rupees in business. This idea came to my mind because it is the sentiment of Honorable Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Saheb. Then I requested the Chief Minister that I will give one lakh interest-free loans to these beloved sisters.”
As per the bank’s plan, women enrolled under the Ladki Bahin scheme can avail themselves of loans of up to ₹1 lakh without any interest charges. Reports from Saamana suggest nearly 5,000 women will benefit from this move. At the launch event, loans were immediately extended to the first 200 women beneficiaries. Among those present were Vice President Siddharth Kamble, Shivajirao Nalawade, Prasad Lad, Nandkumar Katkar, Shilpa Sarpotdar, Tejaswini Ghosalkar, Kavita Deshmukh, Sandeep Ghandat, and several others.
Also Read: Mirzapur: The Film Shoot To Start In Mumbai With Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee
Latest Developments in Ladki Bahin Scheme
The Ladki Bahin program has been under scrutiny following irregularities flagged in 2025. Reports highlighted that a large number of ineligible recipients were availing benefits. In August, Minister Aditi Tatkare revealed that close to 26 lakh women could fail to meet the eligibility conditions. To address this, a physical verification drive was initiated, checking criteria such as age, income, and family status.
The government temporarily paused benefit disbursements in July 2025 while this verification was carried out. Eligible beneficiaries are expected to continue receiving payments once the process is complete. An audit uncovered that over 14,000 men had managed to fraudulently register, resulting in wrongful disbursement of over ₹21 crore. The opposition has since demanded a CBI probe into an alleged ₹4,800-crore scam linked to the scheme. Meanwhile, the pending July installment of ₹1,500 was credited to beneficiaries on August 8.