Overview
- The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly unanimously passed the Maharashtra Women Farmers Empowerment Bill on Thursday, July 2, 2026, giving legal recognition to women who work in farming and allied activities even if they do not own land.
- The law mandates issuance of a Woman Farmer Certificate that will serve as official identity for accessing government subsidies, crop insurance, concessional loans, extension services and market linkages.
- The bill sets up an implementation architecture that includes a Women Farmers Empowerment Council and Cell, a State Monitoring Committee, a Maharashtra State Women Farmers Fund, a database of women farmers and Women Farmer Support Officers at district and taluka levels.
- The government says applications will be processed by Gram Sabhas or urban local bodies with a 15-day issuance target and an appeal route, but legislators pressed for clarity on registering women's names on land records, rules on loan collateral and stronger safeguards against bogus beneficiaries.
- If implemented effectively the law could extend financial and service access to millions of landless cultivators, labourers and allied-sector workers, and its impact will depend on how the state resolves land‑title, banking and fraud-prevention issues during Council review and rulemaking.