Government to celebrate 10 years of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao with nationwide events

NEW DELHI: The government will organise weeks-long celebrations to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative, the Union women and child development ministry said on Tuesday. Beginning on Wednesday, the celebrations will continue till March 8, observed as International Women's Day. The inaugural event in Delhi on Wednesday will feature Union ministers JP Nadda, Annapurna Devi and Savitri Thakur, alongside senior women officers from the armed forces, paramilitary forces and the Delhi Police.

Officials from central ministries, Anganwadi workers, student volunteers and representatives from international organisations such as UNICEF, UN Women and the World Bank will also participate. The occasion marks the beginning of nationwide celebrations reflecting the scheme's transformative impact over the past decade, according to a ministry statement. The celebrations will include events at the state and the district levels.

Special programmes will be held on Wednesday, Sunday (January 26), and March 8, engaging communities through rallies, cultural performances, and felicitation ceremonies for women achievers. The ministry has also announced sustainability initiatives, including a nationwide plantation drive, and will run awareness campaigns across print, digital and social media to further amplify the message of gender equality and empowerment.

Increased girls’ enrollment

Launched on January 22, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Haryana's Panipat, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao initiative was created to address the critical issues of gender imbalance and declining child sex ratio. Over the years, the initiative has driven significant progress. The national sex ratio at birth improved from 918 in 2014-15 to 930 in 2023-24, and the gross enrolment ratio of girls at the secondary level rose from 75.51 per cent to 78 per cent during the same period. Institutional deliveries rose from 61 per cent to 97.3 per cent, and first-trimester antenatal care registrations surged from 61 per cent to 80.5per cent, reflecting the programme's far-reaching impact.

The scheme has gone beyond numbers to drive cultural and social change. Initiatives such as the Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav returned more than a lakh out-of-school girls to education while programmes like the Yashaswini Bike Expedition showcased the empowerment of women in action. The scheme has also utilised creative campaigns, including collaborations with television shows, to address societal issues such as girl child abandonment and to spread awareness about the value of daughters.