E-Paper
National Girl Child Day: Top government schemes for empowering girl child
PM Modi said that the government has been making efforts to build a nation where every girl child has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
January 24 is celebrated as the ‘National Girl Child Day’ across the country every year. The Ministry of Women and Child Development started the initiative of celebrating National Girl Child Day in 2008 to spread awareness about girl child rights and issues faced by them.
On the occasion of National Girl Child Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that over the last decade, the government has been making efforts to build a nation where every girl child has the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive.
Take a look at 5 girl child schemes introduced by the government:
Beti Bacho, Beti Padhao
PM Modi launched the Beti Bacho, Beti Padhao (Save the girl child, Educate the girl child) scheme on January 22, 2015. The scheme was introduced to address the decline in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and issues of empowerment of girls and women in the country.
The scheme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education.
The objectives of this initiative are:
(1) Prevention of gender-biased sex-selective elimination
(2) Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child
(3) Ensuring education and participation of the girl child
CBSE Udaan Scheme
Launched by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Udaan scheme was introduced to address the low enrolment of female students in premier engineering institutions and the teaching gap between school education and engineering entrance examinations.
The objective of the CBSE Udaan scheme is to provide a platform that empowers the girl students and facilitates their aspiration of joining premier engineering institutions in the country.
Students who are eligible for the scheme are provided free offline/online courses through virtual weekend contact classes and study material while studying in classes 11 and 12 for preparation of admission tests to various engineering colleges.
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)
Launched as a part of the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a deposit scheme by the Ministry of Finance.
The scheme aims to meet the education and marriage expenses of a girl child through systematic deposits to ensure to building of a fund for the educational and marriage purposes of the child.
With a rate of interest at 8%, and a maturity period of 21 years, parents or legal guardian of a girl child can open an account if she is below the age of 10 years. The minimum investment is ₹250/- per annum and the maximum investment is ₹1,50,000/- per annum.
National Scheme of Incentive for the Girls of Secondary Education
Launched in 2008, the centrally sponsored ‘National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education’ (NSIGSE) aims to establish an environment to promote enrollment and reduce dropout of girls belonging to SC/ST communities in secondary schools. The scheme also aims to ensure their retention up to 18 years of age.
According to the Department of School Education and Literacy, the scheme covers (i) all girls belonging to SC/ST communities who pass class VIII and (ii) all girls who pass the class VIII examination from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (irrespective of whether they belong to SC/ ST), and enroll in class IX in State/ UT Government, Government-aided and Local Body schools.
If eligible, a sum of ₹3000/- would be deposited as a fixed deposit on enrollment in class IX. They are entitled to withdraw the amount along with interest after attaining 18 years of age and passing the Class X examination.
Balika Samridhhi Yojana
Launched in 1997, the Balika Samridhhi Yojana scheme by the Ministry of Women and Child Development was introduced to help girl children from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category by providing them with the necessary financial assistance.
On the birth of a girl child, ₹500/- would be granted to the mother and annual scholarships for the educational purpose of the child would also be provided by the government under the scheme.
