Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

In 2015, the Indian government introduced the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme to address concerns about gender discrimination and women empowerment in the country. The name Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao translates to 'Save the girl child, educate the…

In 2015, the Indian government introduced the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme to address concerns about gender discrimination and women empowerment in the country. The name Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao translates to 'Save the girl child, educate the girl child'. The scheme aims to educate citizens against gender bias and improve the efficacy of welfare services for girls. It was launched with initial funding of Rs. 100 crore (US$ 13.5 million).

Objectives:

The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana aims to achieve the following goals: 1. Improve the child sex ratio

• 2. Ensure gender equality and women empowerment
• 3. Prevent gender-biased, sex-selective elimination
• 4. Ensure survival and protection of the girl child
• 5. Encourage education and participation of the girl childThe scheme is divided into three components:(1) advocacy campaigns were launched to address the issue of declining CSR and SBR; (2) multi-sectoral interventions were planned and are being implemented in gender-critical districts across the country; and (3) a financial incentive-linked scheme-Sukanya Samriddhi scheme-was launched to encourage parents to build a fund for female children. Key beneficiaries under the BBBP initiative: 1. Primary Segment: Young and newly married couples; pregnant and lactating mothers; and parents.
• 2. Secondary Segment: Youth, adolescents (girls and boys), in-laws, medical doctors/ practitioners, private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic centres.
• 3. Tertiary Segment: Officials, PRIs, frontline workers, women SHGs/collectives, religious leaders, voluntary organisations, media, medical associations, industry associations and the people at large. Programmes and interventions designed to incentivise improvements in the CSR and SRB ratios are being implemented in the shortlisted gender-critical districts. The scheme outlines measurable outcomes and indicators to monitor progress in these 640 districts. The performance targets are as follows: 1. Improve SRB in select gender-critical districts by 2 points per year
• 2. Reduce gender differentials in the under-five child mortality rate metric by 1.5 points per year
• 3. Provide functional toilets for girls in every school in select districts
• 4. Increase first trimester antenatal care registration by 1% per year
• 5. Improve nutritional status by reducing the number of underweight and anaemic girls (under five years of age) Key Developments: 1. The National SRB Index has shown an upward trend from 918 (2014-15) to 934 (2019-20), an improvement of 16 points in five years.2. 422 districts out of the 640 districts covered under BBBP have shown improvement in SRB from 2014-15 to 2018-19.
• 3. The National Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girls in secondary schools improved from 77.45 (2014-15) to
• 32 (2018-19)-3.87 points in four years.
• 4. Proportion of schools with separate, functional toilets for girls rose from 92.1% in 2014-15 to 95.1% in 2018-19.5. 1st trimester ANC registration rate increased from 61% in 2014-15 to 71% in 2019-2
• 0. Institutional deliveries rate soared from 87% in 2014-15 to 94% in 2019-20.