National Girl Child Day
- National Girl Child Day is celebrated every year on 24 January in India. It is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Its objective is to spread awareness on the issue of deficiency in Child Sex Ratio (CSR).
- The event is held on the occasion of the anniversary of the BetiBachao BetiPadhao (BBBP) scheme.
- ‘January, 2021’ has been declared as ‘Girl Child Month’ by Punjab Government and ‘Dheeiyan Di Lohri’ scheme has also been started.
About ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao’ (BBBP):
- Initiation and expansion: ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao’ program was started in January 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. On 8 March 2018, the ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao’ program was launched in all 640 districts of the country (on the basis of census 2011) in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan.
- This is a joint effort of the three Central Ministries, Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development.
Implementation:
It is a central sector scheme. Under this, 100% financial assistance is provided to the plan component at the district level and the assistance amount is released directly to the District Magistrate / District Collector account for its smooth functioning.
Objective:
- The main objective of this scheme is to address the issues related to the reduction in the child sex ratio (CSR) and the empowerment of women in the context of life-cycle continuity.
- Specific objectives of the scheme include preventing gender-biased selective gender eradication; ensuring the life and safety of the girl child and ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
Outcomes of the scheme :
- According to the Ministry of Health, there are promising trends of improvement in sex ratio at birth and it has improved from 918 in 2014-15 to 934 in 2019-20.
- During the first quarter of antenatal care, the health percentage showed a trend of improvement, and it has increased from 61 percent in the year 2014-15 to 71 percent in the year 2019-20.
- Gross enrollment ratio of girls in schools at secondary level has also increased from 77.45 percent in 2014-15 to 81.32 percent in the year 2018-19.
Source – The Hindu
