PM Modi's Decade-Long Push: How Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Transformed India's Girl Child Narrative

• PM Modi launched Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) in 2015 from Panipat, Haryana, a region with a critically low child sex ratio of 819 per 1,000 boys.
• Over a decade, Modi consistently highlighted the girl child's importance from the Red Fort, transforming BBBP from a welfare scheme into a national movement.
• India's sex ratio at birth improved from 914 in 2011 to 930 by 2023, with significant gains in districts like Kurukshetra (743 to 980) and Sonepat (808 to 939).
• The program combined political commitment with institutional delivery, integrating anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, and teachers, leading to improved health metrics like institutional deliveries (61% to 97.3%) and first-trimester antenatal registration (61% to 71%).
• Initiatives like 'Selfie with Daughters' and Kanya Shiksha Pravesh Utsav (re-enrolling 100,786 girls) fostered cultural shifts, while Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana provided financial security, with 4.5 lakh accounts opened in North Gujarat.

Why It Matters: Sustained top-level political messaging and integrated efforts transformed the girl child's status in India.