The scheme of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – an overview

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 at Panipat, Haryana. The main objective of this scheme is to save the girl child and to bring them up with good education, proper health care and protection from social evils like female foeticide, dowry and rape. So the government has launched this scheme to save the girl child from being neglected in the family and provide her all the facilities for her development.

An introduction to BBBP

The foundation stone for Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was laid in Haryana in 2005 with a broad vision to Save Girl Child, Educate Girl Child and Government has launched a nation-wide campaign for empowerment of girl child. The campaign started on January 22, 2015 and will conclude on January 21, 2016. On every International Women’s Day and Republic Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses public rallies in various parts of India highlighting government schemes for women empowerment. Through these rallies he not only propagates various schemes but also seeks public participation in their success. He always asks parents to educate their daughters so that they can become useful citizens who can contribute towards development of country as well as society at large. One such initiative is BBBP which stands for ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’. It means ‘Save Daughter, Educate Daughter’. This programme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Panipat (Haryana) on January 22, 2015 through video conferencing from Delhi simultaneously at multiple locations across all states of India.

How it was started?

On 2 January 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a nationwide program called Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao to improve women’s child sex ratio. The slogan beti bachao beti padhao (save daughters, educate daughters) was coined by Haryana education minister Geeta Bhukkal in 2004 when she was with BJP earlier. It caught on and eventually became part of BJP’s vision document for Haryana in 2014. In fact, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee had also used it during his tenure as PM. But after many years of hard work, people are still not aware about it so here is everything you need to know about it: what it is, how does it work? And why should we even care? Let us find out.

Where it happens?

The scheme ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ has been introduced in 211 districts across 29 states and UTs. Out of these, 68 districts are identified as ‘critically-lagging’ which have a child sex ratio (0-6 years) lower than 900 girls per 1,000 boys. These are some major issues that need to be tackled and strengthened urgently through a strong central government intervention to prevent gender discrimination from taking roots in India. Why it is important?: A skewed sex ratio at birth is one of the most critical indicators of future population trends. If we don’t take steps now, then there will be more number of men compared to women. This will create social problems like increased crime rate and other such things because they won’t get married due to less number of women available for them. Therefore, our government is doing its best to tackle these issues with all possible ways. What does it do? : The scheme aims to ensure that every girl born in India gets education and proper healthcare facilities so that she can grow up into a healthy individual who can lead her life independently without any fear or pressure of getting married early.

Who can participate in this program?

The program is intended for government and government aided schools from class Nursery to VIII. There are no specific eligibility criteria except that each school must admit at least 40% girls. All boys and girls in these schools are eligible to participate in and benefit from it. Why did PM Narendra Modi launch it?: It was launched with a vision to empower women, give them self-confidence, create a sense of security among them and make them aware about their rights. A key focus area would be on improving education facilities for girl children. It will also address concerns related to child marriage, female foeticide, gender discrimination and empowerment of women through education. How does it work? The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative has four components: 1) Free and Compulsory Education for Girls; 2) Improving Early Age Education; 3) Health & Nutrition; 4) Empowerment.

Why this program was launched?

Girls in India are not given equal opportunities for development as boys. From a very young age, girls are told to behave like a girl; when it comes to education, girls don’t even have choice over which subject they would like to study. In most cases, girls give up their dreams in favour of helping their parents out with housework or taking care of younger siblings. This is something that should change and we need to do our part in changing it. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 with an aim to generate awareness and improve efficiency of welfare services intended for girls. This program will be implemented across all states and Union Territories from 1st January 2015 till 31st December 2017. The main objective of BBBP is to reduce gender disparity among children aged 0-6 years through efficient implementation of various schemes and projects related to health & nutrition, education etc. The program also aims at ensuring proper nutrition for pregnant women living below poverty line (BPL). The program will create a positive environment for girls child right from her birth until she completes her adolescence so that she can live life without any fear and enjoy equality with boys.

How far they have gone so far and their future plans?

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is a flagship initiative of Govt. of India. The main objective of it is to ensure education, safety and gender equality to girl child. It was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 22 January 2015 from Panipat, Haryana. It was officially launched on 23 January 2015 at New Delhi. This scheme aims for 100% literacy rate among girls aged 6-14 years in all states of India. This will be achieved through following strategies: Education of Girls Education has been made as compulsory till age 14 years.