The Effectiveness of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme: Evidence from Madhya Pradesh (2015-2023)

Abstract

The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme was introduced by the Indian government in 2015 to address the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR), change discriminatory societal attitudes towards the girl-child, and promote educational opportunities for girls. This paper will focus on the extent to which the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme has impacted the education of the girl child in India since its inception. The education of the girl child has long been a source of market failure in a largely unequal society, such as India. This question is answered through a survey we conducted of 114 households in the Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh using the cluster sampling model and an analysis of secondary data and literature. 89.47% of the survey respondents were very or somewhat aware of the scheme, with 63.16% of respondents mentioning that it encouraged them to enroll their children in school, with financial assistance and scheme publicity being the biggest motivators. 40.35% of respondents claimed that the scheme improved the overall literacy rate in their village, and over half the respondents reported improvements in the quality of education. Retention rates did not increase significantly as per the respondents. Our results show the scheme, although has positively impacted the education of the girl child in India, still faces limitations in context to its efficiency and the impact relative to the budget allocated by the government. Our research acts as a guide for amendments to the BBBP scheme along with recommendations for future policy-making.