Now, Odisha to implement 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme in all 30 districts

The government's flagship scheme 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' (BBBP), proposed to address the decline of girl child sex ratio, will now also be implemented in all 30 districts of Odisha, after the state government accepted a proposal concerning the same.

Women and Child Development advisor of Odisha, Sulata Deo thanked the central government for their decision to implement the scheme in all 30 districts of Odisha.

She also mentioned that Odisha's Nayagarh district was the first to implement the BBBP programme as a pilot project in 2015, and an awareness drive was then initiated in the district to inform people about offences and sexual violence against women.

The BJD government led by Naveen Patnaik has initiated various schemes aimed to address sexual violence against women and children, namely -- Pari and Operation Muskan and many others.

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"The number of rape cases against women and atrocities against females is increasing day by day. We have seen such cases like the Nirbhaya case, Unnao and the Hyderabad veterinarian rape case. The BBBP programme aims to apprise people about all these things in an effort to reduce crime against women and children," Deo said.

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'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' scheme

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, the BBBP scheme aims to create awareness and develop the efficiency of welfare services for girls. Initial funding for the programme was Rs 100 crore.

The scheme came after a census data revealed that the child gender ratio (0-6 years) in India was 927 girls per 1,000 boys in 2001, however, the same dropped to 918 girls for every 1,000 boys in 2011.

In September this year, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, announced that the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) in India has improved by 13 points from 918 to 931 in the last five years.

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(With inputs from ANI)