BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO SCHEME

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The Union Government announced the inclusion of the skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) under the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme.
The scheme will now also focus on increasing the enrolment of girls in secondary education, particularly in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) subjects.

Background

The Census of 2011 reflects a declining trend in the Child Sex Ratio (CSR) between 0-6 years with an all-time low at 918.
A decline in CSR reflects:
- Pre-birth discrimination through gender-biased sex selection.
- Post-birth discrimination against girls (in form of their health, nutrition, and educational needs).

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) programme

In 2015, the Union Government has launched the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)
It is a tri-ministerial effort of;
- Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
- Ministry of Education (Earlier Ministry of Human Resource Development).
Since 2021 the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Minority Affairs have also been added as partners.
The programme only focuses on awareness campaigns and no provision of individual cash transfers by the Government.
The scheme is now subsumed into Mission Shakti.
Objectives of the Scheme;
- Prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination.
- Ensure the survival and protection of the girl child.
- Ensure the education and participation of the girl child.
- Increase girls' participation in the fields of sports.
The scheme aims to achieve:
- Improvement in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by 2 points every year,
- Improvement in the percentage of institutional deliveries sustained at the rate of 95% or above.
- 1% increase in enrolment at the secondary education level and skilling of girls/women per year.
- To check the dropout rate among girls at secondary and higher secondary levels.
- Raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene management (MHM)