One of the Congress’s five flagship welfare schemes, Gruha Lakshmi provides ₹2,000 per month to women heads of households through direct benefit transfer.
Published Dec 18, 2025 | 12:17 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 18, 2025 | 12:17 PM
The Minister for Women and Child Development, Laxmi Hebbalkar.
Synopsis: Karnataka Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar apologised in the Assembly on Wednesday, 17 December, after admitting that she had provided incorrect information on the disbursal of payments under the Congress government’s Gruha Lakshmi scheme. She clarified that instalments for February and March had not been released, but has yet to provide exact figures.
Karnataka Minister for Women and Child Welfare Laxmi Hebbalkar was forced to apologise on the Assembly floor on Wednesday, 17 December, for presenting incorrect information about the disbursal of payments under the Congress government’s flagship Gruha Lakshmi welfare scheme.
During the ongoing winter session, on 9 December, responding to a question from BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai, Hebbalkar told the House that 23 instalments had been released under the scheme so far, with each of the 1.26 crore women beneficiaries receiving a total of ₹46,000.
She had also stated that payments had been made up to August this year.
Opposition members, however, maintained that instalments for February and March had not been released.
On Wednesday, the minister walked back her remarks and clarified that the instalments for February and March had not been paid.
“I had said that we have cleared payments up to August. Later, when I checked, I noticed that two months’ instalments were not paid to the beneficiaries through DBT,” Hebbalkar said.
One of the Congress’s five flagship welfare schemes, Gruha Lakshmi provides ₹2,000 per month to women heads of households through direct benefit transfer, aiming to enhance financial independence.
Minister Hebbalkar has yet to provide exact figures of the payments disbursed so far.
Issuing an apology, she maintained that her intention was not to provide incorrect information or mislead the House.
“If my reply has hurt anyone, I express regret,” she said.
Beneficiaries gave South First differing accounts of the payments.
One beneficiary said they had received benefits until July 2025, and that no payment had been made thereafter.
The Opposition, meanwhile, demanded that Hebbalkar tender a formal apology.
In response, the minister accused Opposition members of targeting a woman minister.
BJP leader S Suresh Kumar urged her to refrain from playing the “victim card”, stating that the issue would have been raised even if the minister concerned had been a man.
Following the exchange, Opposition members staged a walkout in protest against what they described as the “non-disbursal” of payments under the scheme.
(Edited by Dese Gowda with inputs from Anisha Reddy)
