India, July 27 -- More than 14,000 men have fraudulently claimed benefits under Maharashtra's women-only Ladki Bahin Yojana, a state government report has shown, highlighting massive systemic failures in a scheme credited with helping the Mahayuti coalition secure electoral victory last year.

The Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Scheme, which provides Rs.1,500 monthly to eligible women aged 21-65 from low-income families, has lost Rs.1,640 crore to ineligible beneficiaries over the past 12 months, according to the latest scrutiny report by the state women and child development department.

Of this staggering amount, Rs.21.44 crore went to 14,298 men who misrepresented their identities to enrol in the scheme designed exclusively for women's...