Jan 23 2015 : The Times of India (Delhi)
2 schemes launched to give girls fair deal
Himanshi Dhawan @ timesgroup com
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Panipat:
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PM Tugs At Heartstrings To End Bias
Exhorting people not to regress to an 18th century mindset, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made an emotional pitch to end discrimination against the girl child. Modi launched the twin programmes of `Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' and `Sukanya Samridhi Yojna' in a bid to encourage birth and education of girls and tackle the abysmally low child sex ratio of 918 girls for 1,000 boys.Describing the desire to indulge in female foeticide as a “mental illness'', Modi said if this discrimination does not end it could cause a `terrible crisis' soon because of a lack of women in the country . Incidentally , the Prime Minister launched the two schemes from Panipat in Haryana that has among the lowest child sex ratio in the country (837 girls to 1,000 boys).
The launch took place amid much fanfare with senior Cabinet ministers Maneka Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, J P Nadda, Smriti Irani, Haryana chief minister M L Khattar and actor Madhuri Dixit present.The Prime Minister, who slammed the audience for “double standards'' in killing daughters but desiring educated daughters-in-law, also chose to attack doctors who assist in sex selective abortions. Pleading to end this ill practice, he said the Prime Minister of the country had come to them like a beggar and was begging for the lives of daughters.
Referring to Haryana, he said it was very painful for him to see that in a state which produced a woman like Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to have travelled to space, “other Kalpana Chawlas are killed in the wombs of their mothers“.
He also launched the Sukanya Samridhi Yojna (girl child prosperity scheme), under which girl children below 10 years will have bank accounts with more interest and income tax benefits.
The campaign will be initially implemented in 100 districts, including 12 in Haryana, of the country where the sex ratio is rather poor.
Citing the 2006 Prince incident, in which a five-yearold boy was rescued in an over-50-hour operation after he had fallen into a borewell in Kurukshetra, Modi said the whole country had prayed for him. He wondered why the same people become so insensitive when so many girl children are killed around them.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com
The launch took place amid much fanfare with senior Cabinet ministers Maneka Gandhi, Ravi Shankar Prasad, J P Nadda, Smriti Irani, Haryana chief minister M L Khattar and actor Madhuri Dixit present.The Prime Minister, who slammed the audience for “double standards'' in killing daughters but desiring educated daughters-in-law, also chose to attack doctors who assist in sex selective abortions. Pleading to end this ill practice, he said the Prime Minister of the country had come to them like a beggar and was begging for the lives of daughters.
Referring to Haryana, he said it was very painful for him to see that in a state which produced a woman like Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman to have travelled to space, “other Kalpana Chawlas are killed in the wombs of their mothers“.
He also launched the Sukanya Samridhi Yojna (girl child prosperity scheme), under which girl children below 10 years will have bank accounts with more interest and income tax benefits.
The campaign will be initially implemented in 100 districts, including 12 in Haryana, of the country where the sex ratio is rather poor.
Citing the 2006 Prince incident, in which a five-yearold boy was rescued in an over-50-hour operation after he had fallen into a borewell in Kurukshetra, Modi said the whole country had prayed for him. He wondered why the same people become so insensitive when so many girl children are killed around them.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com
