Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

Context:

According to recent guidelines issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme will be extended to all Districts.

Relevance:

GS-II: Social Justice and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What are the Guidelines?
2. About Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme
3. Criticism of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao

What are the Guidelines?

• The ministry has now targeted improvement in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by 2 points every year, improvement in the percentage of institutional deliveries at 95% or above.
• Increasing girls’ participation in sports by identifying talent and linking them with appropriate authorities under ‘Khelo India’.
• Promoting self-defence camps, construction of girls’ toilets, making available sanitary napkin vending machines and sanitary pads, especially in educational institutions, awareness about PC-PNDT (Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques) Act 1994, etc.
  • PC-PNDT act aims to ban the use of sex selection techniques before or after conception and prevent the misuse of a prenatal diagnostic technique for sex-selective abortion.
• Zero-budget advertising and encouraging greater spend on activities that have on-ground impact.
• In 2021 parliamentary committee on empowerment of women in its report stated that nearly 80 % funds for the BBBP scheme has been used for advertising, and not on sectoral interventions such as women’s health and education.
• Strengthen One-Stop Centres (OSCs), set up to help women facing violence, including domestic violence and trafficking, by adding 300 OSCs in districts which either have a high rate of crimes against women or are geographically large, preferably in aspirational districts.

About Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme

• The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2015 in Haryana with the objective of bringing behavioral change in the society towards birth and rights of a girl child, has resulted in increased awareness and sensitization of the masses regarding prevalence of gender bias and role of community in eradicating it.
• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao is a campaign of the Government of India that aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls in India. The scheme was launched with an initial funding of ₹100 crore. 
• A joint initiative of MoWCD, MoHFW and MoHRD (now Ministry of Education).
• 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.
• In the Population Census of 2011 it was revealed that the population ratio of India 2011 is 919 females per 1000 of males.
• The Sex Ratio 2011 shows a downward trend from the census 2001 data.
• During the last 6 years the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has improved by 16 points from 918 in 2014-15 to 934 in 2019-20.
• Gross Enrolment Ratio of girls in the schools at secondary level has improved from 77.45 to 81.32.
• During the last 6 years since its inception, the BBBP scheme has been aiming at changing the mindset of the public to acknowledge the rights of the girl child.
• The scheme has resulted in increased awareness and sensitization of the masses regarding prevalence of gender bias and role of community in eradicating it.
• It has raised concerns around the issue of declining CSR in India.
• As a result of collective consciousness of the people supporting the campaign, BBBP has found its place in public discourse.

Main Objectives:

• Prevention of gender-biased sex-selective elimination.
• Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child.
• Ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
• Protecting rights of Girl children.

Criticism of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao

• Excessive expenditure on communication-related activities: The committee noted that the massive spending on advertisements was despite the clearly laid-down formula for utilization of funds.
• Inefficient allocation and release of funds: The C&AG issued a study criticizing the scheme’s execution, saying that fewer than 20% of the total funds provided by the Centre were actually spent at the state level in 2016-17.
• Implementation challenges: The scheme faces several challenges ranging from underutilisation of available funds, to lackadaisical implementation and failure of monitoring mechanisms, particularly at the state and district levels.
• Unbalanced expenditure patterns: The expenditure planned for the BBBP is highly skewed towards just one pillar of the BBBP scheme. This provides no provision for improving the scheme’s long-term, quantifiable effects on education and health.

-Source: The Hindu