Paying for unpaid household work

In one village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, a woman receives a small but fixed sum each month — not a wage, because she has no formal job, but an unconditional cash transfer from the government.

Premila Bhallavi says the money covers medicines, vegetables and her son’s school fees. The amount, 1,500 rupees ($16:£12), may be small, but its impact – the expected income, the sense of control, the taste of independence – is not.

Her story is increasingly common. Across India, 118 million adult women in 12 states now receive unconditional cash transfers from their governments, making India the site of one of the world’s largest and least studied social policy experiments.

India has long been accustomed to subsidizing grain, fuel, and rural jobs, but it has stumbled upon something far more extreme: paying adult women simply because they keep families running, bear the burden of unpaid care, and constitute a constituency too large to ignore.

Eligibility filters vary – age limits, income limits and exceptions for families with government employees, taxpayers, owners of cars or large plots of land.

“Unconditional cash transfers signal a significant expansion of social welfare systems in Indian states to benefit women,” said Prabha Koteswaran, professor of law and social sciences. The judge at King’s College London told the BBC.

Remittances range from 1,000 to 2,500 rupees ($12 to $30) per month, which are meager amounts, equal to about 5% to 12% of family income, but they are regular. With 300 million women now owning bank accounts, transfers have become administratively simple.

Usually women Spend the money on home and family needs – children’s education, groceries, cooking gas, medical and emergency expenses, repayment of small debts and occasional personal items like gold or small amenities.

What distinguishes India from Mexico, Brazil, or Indonesia – countries with massive conditional cash transfer programs – is the absence of conditions: the money arrives whether the child is in school or not, or the family is below the poverty line.

Goa was the first state to launch an unconditional cash transfer scheme for women in 2013. This phenomenon worsened just before the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, when Assam Introducing a scheme for vulnerable women. Since then, these transfers have become a powerful political force.

The latest wave of unconditional cash transfers targets adult women, with some states recognizing their unpaid domestic and care work. Tamil Nadu Its payments are framed as a “grant of rights,” while… West Bengal The scheme similarly recognizes women’s unpaid contributions.

In other countries, the recognition is implicit: Policymakers expect women to use remittances for family well-being, experts say.

This focus on women’s economic role has also shaped policy: in 2021, Tamil actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan promised to “pay salaries to housewives.” (His nascent party lost.) By 2024, pledges to deliver women-focused cash transfers helped deliver victories for political parties in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Odisha, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh.

In the recent elections in Bihar, the political power of cash transfers was on stark display. In the weeks before elections in the country’s poorest states, the government transferred 10,000 rupees ($112; £85) to 7.5 million women’s bank accounts as part of a livelihood scheme. Women voted in larger numbers than men, which helped shape the outcome decisively.

Critics called it blatant vote buying, but the result was clear: women helped the BJP-led coalition achieve a landslide victory. Many believe this cash injection was a reminder of how financial support can be used as political leverage.

However, Bihar is only one part of a much bigger picture. Across India, unconditional cash transfers reach tens of millions of women on a regular basis.

Maharashtra alone promises benefits to 25 million women; Odisha scheme reaches 71% women voters.

In some political circles, these schemes are derided as vote-buying freebies. It also puts pressure on states’ finances: 12 states are scheduled to spend about $18 billion on such payments this fiscal year. A a report Legislative research firm PRS notes that half of these states face revenue shortfalls — this occurs when a state borrows to pay regular expenses without creating assets.

But many say it also reflects a slow recognition of something feminist activists in India have argued for decades: the economic value of unpaid domestic and care work.

Women in India will spend nearly five hours a day on such work in 2024, more than three times as much time as men, according to the latest time use survey. This unbalanced burden helps explain India’s stubbornness Low female labor force participation. Experts say that cash transfers, at least, acknowledge the flaw.

Do they work?

The evidence is still weak but useful. A 2025 study in Maharashtra found that 30% of eligible women did not register — sometimes because of documentation problems, sometimes because of a sense of self-sufficiency. But of those who did, almost all controlled their own bank accounts.

A 2023 survey in West Bengal found that 90% manage their accounts themselves and 86% decide how to spend the money. Most of them used it to cover food, education and medical costs. It’s hardly transformative, but regularity provides security and a feeling of strength.

More detailed work by Professor Koteswaran and colleagues shows mixed results.

In Assam, most women spent money on necessities; Many expressed their appreciation for the dignity afforded by this law, but few linked it to the recognition of unpaid work, and most still preferred paid jobs.

In Tamil Nadu, women who received the money reported peace of mind, reduced marital conflict, and newfound confidence — a rare social dividend. In Karnataka, beneficiaries reported eating better, gaining more voice in household decisions and wanting higher payments.

However, only a small part of the scheme was understood as compensation for unpaid care work; The letters did not travel. However, the women said the money allowed them to question politicians and manage emergency situations. From studies, the majority of women had complete control of cash.

“Evidence shows that cash transfers are extremely beneficial for women to meet their immediate needs and those of their families. It also restores dignity to women who are financially dependent on their husbands for every minor expense,” says Professor Koteswaran.

Importantly, none of the surveys found evidence that money discourages women from seeking paid work or entrenching gender roles – two big feminist concerns, according to a report by Professor Koteswaran with Jill Andrew and Madhusree Jana.

The researchers found that it did not reduce the burden of unpaid work on women. However, it does promote financial independence and modestly enhance bargaining power. They are neither a panacea nor a poison: they are useful but limited tools, and they operate in a patriarchal society where criticism alone cannot eliminate structural inequality.

What’s next?

Emerging research offers clear hints.

Eligibility rules should be simplified, especially for women who do heavy, unpaid care work. Transfers must remain unconditional and independent of marital status.

But researchers say messages should emphasize women’s rights and the value of unpaid work, and financial education efforts should be deepened. Cash transfers cannot replace employment opportunities; Many women say that what they really want is work that pays and respect that lasts.

“If remittances are coupled with messages about recognizing women’s unpaid work, they have the potential to disrupt the gender division of labor when paid work opportunities become available,” says Professor Koteswaran.

India’s quiet cash transfer revolution is only in its infancy. But it does show that small, regular payments – paid directly to women – can shift power in subtle and important ways.

Whether this becomes a path to empowerment or simply a new form of political patronage will depend on what India chooses to build around money.