Secretary of Union Ministry for Women and Child Development, VS Oberoi on Wednesday said that the aim of the ‘Beti-Bachao-Beti Padhao’ Abhiyan is to improve the sex ratio in 100 districts of the country, including 12 districts of Haryana, where it is very poor.
He was speaking at a meeting held in Panipat to review the arrangements being made for the launch of the ‘Beti-Bachao-Beti Padhao’ Abhiyan by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on January 22. Additional Secretary in the Ministry, Preeti Sudan, said the Abhiyan would not only focus on the empowerment of women but also ensure their participation in improving the sex ratio. Before the launch, a two-day workshop will be organised on January 20 and 21 for discussion on how to improve the sex ratio and take the ‘Beti-Bachao-Beti Padhao’ Abhiyan to the national level.
Principal Secretary, Haryana School Education Department, TC Gupta, said that under the ‘Beti-Bachao-Beti Padhao’ Abhiyan, competitions like essay-writing, printing and slogan-writing would be organized in about 20,000 schools across the state. About 41 lakh students in Government and private schools would participate in these competitions. It would be mandatory for every student to participate in at least one competition. Gupta said the department had uploaded the statistics of sex ratio at village; ward and district levels on the website of the Department www.schooleducationharyana.gov.in to awaken people to the need to improve things.
Chief Secretary, DS Dhesi, reviewed the arrangements for the launch of the Abhiyan and issued necessary directions to concerned officers. He also visited the venues of the programme. Additional Principal Secretary, Haryana Chief Minister, Sumita Misra, Home Secretary, PK Mahapatra, Additional Chief Secretary, SS Dhillon, Principal Secretary, Ram Niwas, and other senior officers were also present at the meeting.