NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (BBBP) programme has brought about improvements in certain aspects, including ensuring 100 per cent institutional deliveries, and curbing the practice of sending new-born girls to orphanages, in the 100 districts where it was implemented.
"People have responded very well. The first achievement of BBBP is that in these areas , there has been almost hundred per cent institutional delivery," Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi said.
The government had announced BBBP programme to address the issue of decline in Child Sex Ratio (CSR) through a mass campaign across the country and focused intervention in 100 gender critical districts.
These districts were identified on the basis of low CSR as per Census 2011 covering all states/UTs as a pilot with at least one district from each state.
A District Task Force (DTF) headed by respective District Collectors and comprising representatives of departments including Health and Family Welfare, Education, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and Police, was constituted in these areas.
"By making DC (District Collectors) the central head under programme, we were able to tell people about the benefits of girl child, how girls help families, economically, culturally
and keep the family together," Gandhi said.
She noted that the 100 per cent institutional deliveries (deliveries in hospitals) achieved in these districts under the programme was a major one in the last 60 years.
"Little girls who were killed in the womb are now being born and some of them are sent to orphanages where they are adopted almost immediately. We confirmed it and saw that this phenomenon was happening in both north and south districts, and took action against them," the Minister said, adding that it has brought down the instances of the practice.