Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Brief Introduction – Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (Transalation- Save The Daughter, Educate the Daughter) is a campaign of the Government of India that aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls in a India. The Scheme was launched with an initial funding of ₹ 100 Crore (US $ 14 Million.) It mainly targets the clusters in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Bihar and Delhi. It is mainly an initiative of Indian Government, which in various ways helps Females directly or indirectly in their development.
According to Census Data in India the Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years in India was 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001, which dropped to 918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011. A 2012 UNICEF report ranked India 41st among 195 countries. In the Population Census of 2011 it was revealed that the population ratio of India in 2011 is 919 females per 1000 of males. The Sex Ratio 2011 shows a downward trend from the census 2001 data.
Speaking on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child in 2014, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for the eradication of female foeticide and invited suggestions from the citizens of India via the MyGov.in portal.
The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme was launched on 22 January 2015 by PM Narendra Modi. It aims to address the issue of the declining Child Sex Ratio image (CSR) and is a national initiative jointly run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Education. It initially focused multi- sector action in 100 Districts throughout the country where there was low CSR.
On 26 August 2016, Olympic Bronze Medallist Sakshi Malik was made the Brand Ambassador for BBBP. The hashtag #Selfie With Daughter was promoted on social media in June 2015, which started when Sunil Jaglan, the Sarpanch of the Village Bibipur, Jind in Haryana took a selfie with his daughter Nandini and posted on Facebook on 9 June 2015. The Hashtag garnered worldwide fame.
Stats Related to Girls in India- India was ranked 41st among 195 countries worldwide by the UNICEF in 2012 that’s why the scheme for girls was very necessary to create awareness among the people about the safety of women all over India. One group estimates more than 10 million female foetus may have been illegally aborted in India since 1990s and 5,00,000 girls were being lost due to female fortitude.
In the first ever global study on female infanticide by Asian Centre for Human Rights, a Delhi-based NGO dedicated to protection of human rights, it has been revealed that preference of son over daughter is a major reason for female infanticide in many countries around the world. Dowry System in South Asia, which makes daughters “an unaffordable economic burden” also contributes to female infanticide.
In India, the Pre-Conception and Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection ) Act 1994 (amended in 2003) prohibits sex-selection or disclosure of the sex of the foetus. It also prohibits sale of “any ultrasound machine or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus” to persons, laboratories and clinics not registered under the Act.
India has one of the highest female foeticide incidents in the world. The female child population in the age group of 0-6 years declined from 78.83 million in 2001 to 75.84 million in 2011. During the period 1991-2011, the child sex ratio (0-6 years) declines from 945 to 914. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has acknowledged that illegal abortions still outnumber legal abortions and thousands of women die every year due to complications resulting from unsafe abortions. According to the Population Research Institute, at least 12, 771, 043 sex-selective abortions had taken place in India between 2000 and 2014. It takes the daily average of sex- selective abortion to 2,332. The under-reporting under the MTR Act has also been a problem.
In a bid to encourage families to have girl children, prevent female foeticide and educate the girl child, the government launched Beti Bachao , Beti Padao Campaign in January 2018
Objectives and Aims of Beti Badhao Beti Padhao- The three main objectives of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana are following- Focus on the Prevention of Gender Biased Sex-Selective Elimination . Protecting the Girl Child. Promoting Women Education and Participation of the Girl Child.
The Objective of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign launched in the year 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not only to generate awareness about saving the girl child and the importance of girls education but also to ensure that the welfare services meant for girls are being delivered in an efficient manner.
. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme carries provisions for awards and recognitions. However there is no provision for direct individual cash transfer as it is not a Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme
. To promote gender development and opt for some pro-active measures for the healthy growth of girl-child. Therefore remedial steps in the form of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme were the need of the hour to curb the imbalanced gender development in the nation.
. The Scheme is a Tri ministerial effort of three Ministries which include the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development. Secretary of MWCD heads is National Task Force that administers the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme.
. Prevention of Gender biased sex selective elimination, ensuring survival and protection of the girl child and ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
Conclusion- From the above discussions and knowing thoroughly about the encouraging and energetic scheme launched by the government of India, we can all say the scheme which has been launched is really a bold step taken by the government and if the proper execution of all the above mentioned objectives comes into the proper execution in the country, then we can see brighter aspects of the girl child in India where the girl infants would not be killed, the father of the bride would not be forced to give the dowry to the bridegroom, the girls can receive equal opportunities in every field in comparison to boys in terms of education, job, skills, knowledge, literacy and many more things which opens the door of opportunities for them. Further, the level of female foeticide will gradually decline and sex ratio in the country will slowly improve without any obstacles and social constraints. Let’s hope for a better future and the country will develop in a true sense only when the girls are given equal opportunities with boys in every field . Only then we can say that country is towards the path of progress and attaining the status of developed country.
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