The remark came in response to a question from Bundeli content creator, who asked Yadav what the government planned for daughters, after doing so much for sisters, through the Ladli Behna scheme.
Yadav smiled and responded that the Ladli Behna scheme had “proved very expensive”, adding that he had not known becoming chief minister would come with such a “heavy financial burden”.
The exchange was met with laughter and applause at the event.
Yadav also spoke about the government’s approach to the scheme, saying that despite the financial challenges, the government would continue to take decisions in the interests of women. He noted that the monthly assistance under the scheme had increased from ₹1,000 at its launch to ₹1,500.
The Mukhyamantri Ladli Behna Yojana was launched in June 2023 with a monthly assistance of ₹1,000. The amount was subsequently raised to ₹1,250 and then to ₹1,500 from November 2025.
The 40th monthly instalment was released on September 13, with ₹1,835 crore transferred to more than 1.25 crore women. With that instalment, the cumulative regular monthly assistance transferred under the scheme since its launch reached ₹65,395.99 crore, according to government figures.For 2026-27, the state has made a budget provision of ₹23,882.81 crore for the scheme.