Maharashtra government relaunches scheme to improve girl child ratio

This relaunched initiative is a mix of "Sukanya" scheme that was implemented in February 2014 and Centre's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" scheme implemented the same year.

Minister Pankaja Munde, who was divested of Water Conservation portfolio in the recent cabinet reshuffle, has focused her attention on the scheme and plans to implement it on a mission mode across the state, for which she had enlisted support of her cabinet colleagues and guardian ministers.

An official in the Women and Child Development department said that the government intends to take the scheme to the village level through massive public awareness programme.

"The scheme is broadly divided into two parts. One in which the couple has gone for family planning operation after the birth of the first girl child and second category is for couples going for the family planning operation after the birth of the second girl child. However, the scheme shall not apply for couples having one boy, one girl child," the official said.