The Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme, which was introduced in 2015, was aimed at addressing the concerns of gender discrimination and women empowerment in the country. The scheme was initially launched in only 161 districts and eventually covered all 640 districts of the country.
Since its inception, the BBBP scheme has resulted in increased awareness and sensitization of the masses regarding the prevalence of gender bias and the role of the community in eradicating it. The Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) has improved by 16 points from 918 to 934 and the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of girls in the schools at secondary level has improved from 77.45 to 81.32 in between 2014-15 to 2019-20.
However, it has failed to achieve its objectives in certain areas, which include the following:

• Though the Central and state governments have taken multiple measures to improve the gender ratio, the practice of female foeticide remains rampant.
• One of the BBBP scheme’s aims was improving the SRB in gender critical districts by ten points in a year. However, as per the CAG reports, in various districts of Haryana and Punjab, the sex ratio has worsened.
• The target of increasing girls’ enrolment in secondary schools and achieving 100% re- enrolment of girls who had dropped out was also left incomplete.

These shortfalls have been due to various issues that persist in its implementation and monitoring, such as:

• Inefficacy regarding allocation of funds: A 2017 CAG Report has highlighted the inefficient allocation of funds due to which the scheme falls short in social, economic, and general sectors. The report highlighted the cases of Punjab and Haryana with issues of under-utilization of funds, non-compliance to guidelines and infrequent task meetings.
• Violation of earmarked funds: A Parliamentary Committee noted that huge spending on national-level media campaigns and advocacy alone for the scheme was a clear violation of the 50-lakh provision earmarked for each district under the scheme.
• Socio-cultural factors: Existing patriarchal social norms such as son preference, dual burden of care responsibilities of women and regressive power structures continue to pose hurdles for young girls in terms of survival and education.
• Lack of political will: The lack of frequent meetings at the district and state levels can lead to the scheme losing the momentum it has created in the past few years.
• Structural barriers: Inadequate staff to regularly conduct field inspections and review the implementation at the grassroots level, unavailability of clean functional toilets, etc. were found to be the key constraints to retention of girls in schools and their education cycle.

Measures that can lead to better implementation of the scheme include:

• Gender sensitisation training and capacity building for personnel along with basic digital upskilling would go a long way in ensuring better implementation of the scheme.
• Incentivising educated females to join schools as teachers could ramp up female enrolment in schools.
• Local frontline workers such as ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, and Mahila Mandals should play key representatives.
• The formation of “Balika Manch”, activated school management committees, and linking out of school girls with back-to-school alternative education initiatives for bettering the enrolment rate should be adopted.

Diligent and effective implementation of the BBBP scheme is crucial to bridging gender gaps in critical areas of healthcare and education for girls and women and achieving India’s goal of SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Gender parity in terms of survival and education is essential for achieving equitable economic development and a cornerstone for ensuring basic human rights.