5 Government Schemes For Girl Child Welfare in India

In India, girls are worshiped as goddesses, but they are also considered a burden if born in some homes. The perception of girls being Paraaya Dhan, which literally translates to another person’s property has made the lives of many young girls and women out there miserable. The inextricably linked patriarchy and the gender roles it entails have prevented girls from doing what they deserve or just believing in what they wish to believe in. 

Time and again, the Government of India has implemented several initiatives to safeguard its nation’s girl children from the atrocities of the conventional mindset of society, as well as to make the country a better place to live for all. Keeping in mind Adelaide Hoodless’s comment, “Educate a boy, and you educate an individual.” Educate a girl, and you educate a society”, the Government of India has launched these girl child welfare schemes. 

1. Balika Samriddhi Yojana

To promote the birth and education of girls, the Government of India launched the Balika Samriddhi Yojana in October 1997 after the independence day in India. Following India’s independence day in 1997, the Indian government decided to promote the education of girl children, launching the Balika Samriddhi Yojana in October 1997. It was applicable to all girl children born after 15th August 1997, regardless of whether they lived in a rural or urban area. It had a significant impact on the reduction of taboos associated with girl births and the eradication of female foeticide.

Key Objectives of the Campaign

1. To give financial assistance to girls born into families with lower resources and to provide them with a place to finish their studies, eventually preventing them from child marriage.
2. Assist girls in developing abilities to work for themselves and breaking stereotypes about girls’ conventional roles.
3. Encourage the birth of female children and assist them in becoming independent and strong citizens of the country.

2. Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG)

Adolescence is a particularly delicate age in which the child seeks the greatest amount of attention and liberty at the same time. When it comes to girls, this is the moment when their bodies require adequate nourishment, and they seek someone to accept their opinions and choices. The Ministry of Women and Child Development devised the Scheme for Teenage Girls in 2010 to offer the best for these adolescent girls who are born in families where little attention is paid to the nutrition, health, and education of female children. This was mostly targeted at girls between the ages of 11 years to 14 years.

Key Objectives of the Campaign

1. To offer healthy nourishment and education to the nation’s teenage girls.
2. Protect them from gender discrimination, that restrains them from exercising their fundamental rights.
3. Educating young girls to become assets to the country rather than liabilities.

3. CBSE UDAAN Yojana

On 14th November 2014, the Ministry of Human Resource and Development along with the Central Board of Secondary Education launched the UDAAN Yojana to address the issue of a major number of girls dropping out of school and to increase the number of girls enrolling themselves in colleges for higher studies. To avail benefits of this scheme, a candidate should score an aggregate of at least 70% overall and 80% in math and science in their class 10th. They are also shortlisted based on their family annual income which should be less than Rs.6 Lakh per annum. An online helpline is also set up to help the applicants understand the process, eligibility, and any other doubts that they might have. 

Key Objectives of the Campaign

1. To enroll more girls in prestigious engineering colleges. 
2. Empower girl students and provide them with a platform to follow their dreams.
3. Various scholarship schemes are initiated to help girls pay for their education and the material required for it.
4. Provide 1000 selected girls with online study material and books and also provide them with online career guidance. 

4. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: Caring for the Girl Child

The Ministry of Child and Women Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Ministry of Human Development jointly proposed this scheme in October 2014 to control the country’s rising child sex ratio, further condemning female foeticide, and providing equal opportunities to all girl children. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the campaign at Panipat on January 22, 2015, with an initial budget of Rs. 100 crore. The campaign began in 100 substantially impacted areas in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. This was eventually spread across the country and different regions were given the liberty to practice the scheme as per their state’s requirements. 

 Key Objectives of the campaign 

1. Reduce the child sex ratio that went as low as 918 girls for every 100 boys as per the 2011 census. 
2. Abolish female foeticide by including the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Act, 1994.
3. Provide girl children with equal opportunities wherein they receive a quality education
4. Indorse equal inheritance laws for girls and spread the word about all the rights a girl child holds in a family matter. 

5. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

Girls born into low-income families are obliged to abandon their schooling and work as a daily wager to support their families’ necessities. To prevent such girls from missing out on an education, the Prime Minister launched the Sukanya Samridhi Yojana on 22 January 2015, with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana. Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, which is overseen jointly by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Finance, aims to provide jobs and a consistent income to the parents of girls. 

This program encourages parents to make investments and save money for their girl child’s future education, welfare, and marriage. Bank accounts in the child’s name can be opened at any post office or authorized bank under the SSY. There is also an online site where you may apply for an account. These savings accounts provide around a 7.60 % annual interest rate and triple tax redemption. The lowest deposit amount is Rs. 250 and the maximum deposit amount is Rs. 1.5 lakhs per annum. This deposit has a maturity period of 21 years. That usually comes in help when the girl has reached an age to pursue her higher studies or decides to get married.

Key Objectives of the Campaign

1. It is an endeavor to safeguard the future of every female child born into a low-income household and save funds for her further education.
2. Abolish the horrific practice of child labor and child marriage. 
3. Provide girls with equal opportunity to lead a better life and make a good career for themselves.

These initiatives aim to promote the birth of a female child, her nourishment, her schooling, her freedom to exercise her rights, and other such fundamentals that no human should be isolated from. Therefore understanding the working of these schemes and how they are functioning has become something that we should all ponder. It is high time that we work towards the welfare of girls in the country, with the help of these schemes and many other organizations. We all collectively will have to abolish the social evils from the society that enforces the Law Makers to make ‘specific schemes’ to protect a prominent segment of the society. 

These were a few Schemes initiated by The Government of India for the welfare of Girl Child in India. We would like you to share more such schemes in our comment section and let us know your ways of making the world a better and safer place for all.