Achievements of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme.
Contents
About Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
Beti Padhao (BBBP) tri-ministerial convergent effort of Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health & Family Welfare and Education was launched in 2015 at Panipat, Haryana It is one of the flagship programmes of the Government, to address the declining Child Sex Ratio and related issues of empowerment of women on a lifecycle continuum.
Objectives of the BBBP
- To Prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination
- To Ensure survival & protection of the girl child
- In Ensuring education and participation of the girl child.
Major components
- Multi-Sectoral interventions in selected 405 districts
- Advocacy and Media Communication Campaign
Achievements of BBBP Scheme
Improvement in Sex Ratio at Birth, Health and Education
In Education, Gross enrollment of girls at secondary level rose from 77% to 81% approximately from 2014-15 to 2018-19 and schools with separate functional toilets from 92% to 95% approximately from 2014-15 to 2018-19
Attitudinal change, a major shift to draw attention which has successfully engaged with Community to defy the age-old biases against the girl child which were female infanticide, lack of education amongst girls and deprivation of their rights on a life cycle continuum.
introduce innovative practices to celebrate the girl child, such as
- Use of BBBP logo in popular Indian festivals i.e. Lohri, KalashYatra, Rakhi, Ganesh Chaturdashipandal, festival of flowers etc.
- Collaborating at the level of community for observing the son centric rituals while celebrating the birth of girl child i.e. Kuwapoojan, Thalibajana etc.
- Collaborating at the level of community for observing the son centric rituals while celebrating the birth of girl child i.e. Kuwapoojan, Thalibajana etc.
- Felicitation of mothers and girl child at community level and in hospitals by Administration to establish the relevance of the girl child.
- Celebration of Beti Janmotsav in each district.
Pertinent Issues
Underutilization of funds: States across India have utilised just 45 per cent of the funds allocated under the BBBP scheme in the last five years (2015-16 to 2019-20). o Fourteen States, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, have not utilised even half of the total allocation during this period.
Reduction in budget allocation: The proposed budget for the Union Women Child Development Ministry was reduced by over 18 per cent in present budget as compared to the last fiscal. Also, there is no allocation earmarked for the BBBP scheme.
Lack of proper monitoring: There have been incidences of non-compliance with the issued guidelines, such as the Task Force meetings under the scheme do not take place frequently and monthly reports or statement of expenditure from districts are often not submitted timely.
High dropout rates: The average dropout rate of girls was 17.3% at the secondary education level and 4.74% at the elementary level in 2018-19. Also caste based discrimination thrives to push Dalit and Adivasi children, especially girls, out of school.
Challenges of the post-COVID world: The pandemic may have impacted female literacy rates due to issues such as gender-based digital divide, prioritization of education of male child, increased burden of household chores on girls etc.
Unbalanced expenditure patterns: A review of the component-wise distribution of expenditure for 2017-18, as well as planned expenditure profile for 2018-19 and 2019-20 suggests that a majority of the expenditure, i.e. about 43% on average, is allocated for media campaigns at the national level, with another 4% for campaigns at district level. However, only a small proportion, i.e. about 5% each, is allocated for education and health-related interventions
What is needed to make Beti Bachao Beti Padho more resilient ?
- Increase planned expenditure allocation for education and health-related interventions: Media campaigns and community outreach activities for changing societal attitudes need to be balanced with the remaining objectives of the scheme, particularly of increasing female school enrolment and attendance, ensuring improvement in girls’ nutrition status, and enhancing girls’ access to improved sanitation facilities.
- Greater use of mobile technology for monitoring and documentation: Mobile technology should be harnessed for this as it enables increased transparency, and reduces the scope for data manipulation.
- Government must ensure stricter enforcement of the policy guidelines, improve the monitoring mechanisms and incentivize state governments to utilize funds effectively.
- Private sector entities, such as local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) should be on-boarded as longterm partners for the execution of community outreach activities.
FAQ about Beti Bachao Beti Padho Scheme
When Was Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme was launched?
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) was launched by the Prime Minister on 22nd January, 2015 at Panipat, Haryana.
Target group of BBBP
Primary : Young and newly married couples; Pregnant and Lactating mothers; parents
Secondary : Youth, adolescents (girls and boys), in-laws, medical doctors/ practitioners, private hospitals, nursing homes and diagnostic centres
Tertiary : Officials, PRIs; frontline workers, women SHGs/Collectives, religious leaders, voluntary organizations, media, medical associations, industry associations, general public as a whole .
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