Delhi Ladli Scheme, 2008

What was the Delhi Ladli Scheme?

Delhi Ladli Scheme, 2008 was a girl-child savings scheme run by the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of NCT of Delhi, notified by gazette notification No. 8(1)/FAS/GCPR/DSW/06-07/2056-70 dated 1 February 2008 and brought into effect from 1 January 2008. The scheme is commonly searched for as Ladli Yojana.

Delhi Ladli Scheme worked by depositing a fixed sum in the girl's name at birth and again at five education milestones, holding the money until she reached the maturity condition, and then releasing the accumulated amount for her higher education or training. The Department states that the sanctioned amount was deposited with SBI Life Insurance Co. Ltd., which managed it until the girl turned 18 and passed Class X as a regular student or took admission in Class XII.

The scheme is no longer open to new applicants. The Delhi Gazette Extraordinary notification of 31 March 2026 published the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme Rules, made in supersession of the Delhi Ladli Scheme, 2008, with effect from 1 April 2026. Readers looking to register a girl child today should read the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme guide instead.

Who was eligible for the Delhi Ladli Scheme?

A girl qualified if:

• Annual family income did not exceed Rs 1,00,000.
• The family had been resident in Delhi for at least three years before the date of filing the application.
• The girl was born in Delhi.
• If she was school-going, the school was recognised by the Delhi Government, MCD or NDMC.
• She was one of not more than two girls in the family claiming the benefit.

A girl was not eligible if:

• Family income was above Rs 1,00,000 a year.
• The family had lived in Delhi for less than three years.
• The girl was born outside Delhi.
• She attended an unrecognised school.
• The family had already claimed for two daughters.

From 1 April 2026 nobody can apply afresh under these 2008 rules at all, applications are accepted only under the Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme, whose income ceiling is Rs 1,20,000 and which adds an immunisation condition and higher- education milestones.

How much did the Delhi Ladli Scheme pay?

A girl who cleared every milestone from an institutional birth accumulated about Rs 36,000 in deposits, plus whatever the managing fund earned on it before maturity.

The successor Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme keeps the Rs 11,000 birth deposit and the Rs 5,000 school deposits, but restructures them around Class I, VI, IX, XI and XII and adds diploma and graduation stages worth Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000. That is why the earlier ceiling of roughly Rs 36,000 rises to Rs 61,000 under the new rules.

How to apply for the Delhi Ladli Scheme

New applications under the Delhi Ladli Scheme are no longer accepted. The steps below describe the route that operated until 31 March 2026 and remain useful for anyone tracing an old registration.

1. Open the Delhi e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and create or log in to a citizen account using the Aadhaar or voter ID of a parent.
2. Select the Department of Women and Child Development, then the Ladli Scheme service.
3. Fill in the girl child's details, the parent or guardian details, the address and residency details, and the bank account in the girl's name.
4. Upload the birth certificate, the residence proof covering three years, the income proof and the school admission or bonafide certificate for the milestone being claimed.
5. Submit the application and save the acknowledgement number shown on screen.
6. Track the application on the e-District portal under "Track Your Application", using the acknowledgement number.

Schools were also used as a route for the education milestones: a girl already enrolled would have her Class I, VI, IX, X or XII application forwarded by the school to the district office.

To apply for a girl child today, use the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme portal at delhilakhpatibitiyawcd.sbilife.co.in.

How to check an old Delhi Ladli Scheme application

1. Log in at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in with the account used to file the application.
2. Open Track Your Application and enter the acknowledgement or application number.
3. If the portal shows nothing; common for very old registrations — visit the office of the District Women and Child Development Officer for your district with the original acknowledgement slip.
4. Carry the girl's birth certificate, her school records for the milestones claimed, her bank passbook and Aadhaar.

The maturity amount is credited to a bank account in the girl's own name, so an account that has been closed, frozen for KYC, or that carries a name spelling different from the Aadhaar record is the single most common reason a matured Ladli payment has not arrived.

Common reasons a Delhi Ladli Scheme payment did not reach the girl

• No renewal at a school milestone. Each of Class I, VI, IX, X and XII needed a fresh claim with an admission or bonafide certificate. Missing one did not cancel the earlier deposits, but the missed instalment was not paid.
• Bank account closed or dormant, or not linked to Aadhaar.
• Name mismatch between the birth certificate, the school record, Aadhaar and the bank account.
• School not recognised by the Delhi Government, MCD or NDMC.
• Family moved out of Delhi and did not report the address change.
• Third daughter registered in a family that had already claimed for two.

Under the new Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme Rules, an existing Ladli beneficiary is expressly allowed to claim the higher-education milestones, so long as she remained unmarried until 18. If a district office turns you away on the ground that "Ladli is closed", point to clause 3(12) of the Lakhpati Bitiya rules, which preserves that entitlement.

What changes for a Ladli beneficiary under the new rules

The Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Scheme Rules do not wipe the slate clean for girls already on the Ladli register. Five practical changes matter.

• Higher education is now covered. Ladli stopped at Class XII. The new rules add Rs 10,000 for a one-year professional diploma, Rs 20,000 for a two- or three-year diploma or a three-year graduation course, and Rs 25,000 for a four-year graduation course, at any government-recognised or UGC-affiliated institution anywhere in India. Clause 3(12) of the rules extends these higher-education milestones to existing Ladli beneficiaries, subject to their remaining unmarried till 18.
• The school milestone list has shifted. Ladli paid at Class I, VI, IX, X and XII. The new scheme pays at Class I, VI, IX, XI and XII, and treats admission to a Polytechnic or ITI after Class X as equivalent to Class XI.
• Immunisation is now a condition. The rules require the Competent Authority to verify immunisation status at all stages, and an application unsupported by an immunisation record certified by a competent health authority is rejected. This condition applies to new beneficiaries applying from 1 April 2026.
• Marital status is checked at every renewal. The District WCD Officer verifies marital status at each renewal stage until the girl turns 18. Marriage before 18 discontinues eligibility and returns the maturity amount to the government.
• The income ceiling rose from Rs 1,00,000 under Ladli to Rs 1,20,000 under Lakhpati Bitiya, which brings some families back into scope who had been just above the older limit.

Maturity itself works the same way in substance: the accumulated amount is paid into the girl's Aadhaar-linked bank account when she turns 18 having studied to Class XII as a regular student or through the National Institute of Open Schooling, or when she turns 21 having passed graduation. The Department disburses all maturity benefits due in a year in one lump sum.

Where to get help on a Delhi Ladli Scheme case

• Department of Women and Child Development, 1 Canning Lane, New Delhi – 110001, and Maharana Pratap ISBT Building, Kashmere Gate, Delhi – 110006
• Phone: 011-23381892, 011-23070378, 011-23380513
• Email: wcd[at]nic[dot]in
• District Women and Child Development Officer of your district, the Competent Authority for sanction, verification and milestone renewal
• Appeal: the Director, Department of Women and Child Development, whose decision on a grievance is final under the successor scheme's rules

No fee is charged for registration, renewal or release of a Ladli or Lakhpati Bitiya payment. Any demand for money to "clear" a pending instalment should be reported to the district office.