By IANS
Bangalore : The Karnataka government Wednesday launched its ambitious programme to protect girl children in poor families by handing out insurance bonds to a group of beneficiaries here.
Under the scheme called ‘Bhagyalakshmi’ (meaning a girl who brings good fortune), the state government will deposit Rs.10,000 in the name of a girl child with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
The girl, on attaining the age of 18, will get Rs.34,751 from the LIC.
The scheme is applicable to all girl children born after March 31, 2006 and the government estimates it will benefit 115,000 girls.
The scheme, announced in the first budget of the Janata Dal (Secular)-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition in March 2006, is intended to put an end to female foeticide, child labour, child marriages and encourage girls’ education.
The state has set aside Rs.1.6 billion for 2006-07 and Rs.2.5 billion for 2007-08 to implement the scheme.
There are several guidelines to which families will have to adhere to benefit from the scheme.
If a family has more than three children, it will not get the benefit. Registration of birth and immunisation is compulsory for those who would avail of the scheme; the child should be enrolled in Anganwadi centres for a period between six months and six years and should be admitted in a government-recognised school; either parent of the girl child should have undergone a family planning operation, and the insured girl cannot marry until she is 18 years old.
The benefits of the scheme include Rs.25,000 medical insurance if the girl falls ill. In the event of natural death of the child, the family gets Rs.42,500.
Scholarships ranging from Rs.300 to Rs.1,000 annually will be offered to fund the insured girl’s education from first standard to pre-University level, the time she attains the age of 18.
Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa along with several other ministers attended the function held here to launch the scheme.