‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ Scheme To Include NTL Skilling, Menstrual Hygiene Awareness

With the aim to ensure increment in enrolment at the secondary level and skilling of girls and women, the Central government has revised its flagship scheme Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and included several other initiatives such as skilling of girls in non-traditional livelihood (NTL) options, increasing their enrolment in secondary education, raising awareness about menstrual hygiene, and promulgating elimination of child marriages. NTL options are those where women are historically under-represented. Indevar Pandey, secretary, Women and Child Development said that the focus will be on removing the barriers that stop girls from pursuing diverse livelihood opportunities. “To give a fillip to Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, a component of skilling in NTL has been introduced as part of the programme. Through this initiative, girls will be given skill training in non-traditional vocations thereby making them torchbearers of women-led Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India),” Smriti Irani, minister, Women and Child Development (WCD), said while speaking at a national conference on skilling in NTL for girls. An operational manual to implement the scheme in districts was also launched at the event.

According to the manual, a national committee headed by Pandey, made under the larger Mission Shakti mandate, will be the apex committee to review the implementation of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao at regular intervals with state governments and Union territory administrations. The committee shall meet at least once a year preferably in the month of April and monitor the progress of the overall scheme activities and the status of achievement of objectives, an official statement said.

The statement further mentioned that at the state level, the overall implementation of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao will be done by a committee, headed by the chief secretary, WCD. Meanwhile, at the district level, the implementation will be headed by the district magistrate/district collector. Further, an MoU was signed as a joint commitment for the skilling of girls between WCD, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and the Ministry of Minority Affairs. It emphasises convergence between ministries and departments to ensure that adolescents complete their education, build their skills and enter the workforce in a diverse set of professions, including science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), where girls have historically been under-represented.