Unconditional Cash Transfers in India Cross ₹2.8 Lakh Crore, Rise 23 Times Over a Decade

New report by Project DEEP calls for a national redesign of UCTs to make citizen welfare more inclusive, aspirational, and accountable

 India’s welfare economy has entered a transformative phase with Unconditional Cash Transfers now crossing ₹2,80,780 crore in allocations for FY 2024–25. This figure represents 0.9 percent of the national GDP and 11 percent of total social sector spending, surpassing programs like MGNREGA and the National Food Security Mission in financial scale.
This insight comes from a comprehensive national report released by Project DEEP, titled Unconditional Cash Transfers in India: Tracing the Journey, Shaping the Future. The report evaluates over 70 central and state schemes and includes interviews with 21 policy and sector experts. It identifies a 23-fold increase in UCTs over the past decade, with monthly transfers becoming the dominant method of delivery. In 2024–25 alone, 32 such schemes are active, up from just nine in 2015–16. Seventy-one percent of the current UCT budget is now disbursed through monthly transfers.

More than half of current allocations are directed toward women from low-income households, marking a significant shift toward gender-responsive welfare design. According to Pankhuri Shah, Co-Founder of Project DEEP, this shift is not just operational, it reflects a redefinition of welfare. “Cash transfers have moved beyond being emergency measures. They are now tools for financial security and long-term agency. But to fully realise their value, the design, delivery, and tracking of these schemes must evolve into a coherent, participatory model.”
The report warns of persistent exclusions, particularly among informal workers, street-dwelling populations, trans persons, and others without formal identity data. It also highlights the wide variation in adequacy. Some schemes offer as little as ₹2,400 per year, while others reach ₹2 lakh. The pension under IGNOAPS is lower than a day’s wage under MGNREGA. These disparities weaken the transformational potential of UCTs, which remain fragmented and inconsistent in their current form.

Muzamil Baig, Co-Founder of Project DEEP, stressed that India stands at a critical point. “We now have enough scale and data to redesign the UCT ecosystem with purpose. It is time to phase out schemes that no longer serve their objectives, and build a consolidated, rights-based, citizen-centric delivery system that fosters inclusion and resilience.”
The report proposes a three-part roadmap. First, a national policy framework to consolidate fragmented UCT schemes across ministries and states. Second, redesign tools that intentionally link UCT amounts to adequacy standards, enabling a shift from survival support to long-term opportunity. Third, robust data and feedback systems with embedded impact evaluations to align policy with the lived experience of recipients.
Project DEEP also cautions that cash transfers must complement, not replace, investment in public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and roads. Without strong public goods, UCTs risk becoming stopgaps instead of catalysts for economic participation and dignity.

With pilots in five regions and field partnerships across multiple states, Project DEEP brings ground-up insights into policy rooms. The report offers the first consolidated national overview of cash transfers in India and establishes a shared agenda for states, civil society, and philanthropic actors to move toward durable, inclusive welfare.
Project DEEP is India’s only dedicated policy organisation focused on cash-based welfare. Its mission is to strengthen per capita income growth for the bottom 20 percent through research, community pilots, and public policy innovation. Founded by Pankhuri Shah and Muzamil Baig, DEEP works at the intersection of grassroots evidence and national design frameworks.

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