August 14, 2019
10 facts about Kanyashree Prakalpa
August 14 is celebrated by the State Government as Kanyashree Dibas, to mark the celebration of the flagship scheme, Kanyashree Prakalpa. The scheme is run by the Women and Child Development Department.
On this occasion, let us look at 10 facts about this internationally-recognised scheme.
1. Beneficiaries: About 58 lakh adolescent girls as well as college and university-going girls, covering over 17,400 institutions.
2. Scholarship amounts: Rs 1,000 per annum from ages 13 to 18 (K1 level); Rs 25,000 one-time grant after turning 18 and before turning 19 (K2 level), provided she has been a beneficiary of K1 stage; for postgraduate female students, Rs 2,500 per month in science stream and Rs 2,000 per month in arts stream (K3 level)
3. Huge allocation of funds: Total budget since launch is over Rs 7,000 crore
4. Dropout reduced significantly: School dropout rate has reduced significantly, proved by an increase by 73% (from 5.62 lakh to 9.74 lakh) in the admission of girl students
5. Kanyashree Clubs: Kanyashree Clubs formed and strengthened across the State since 2016, empowering girls through self-defence training, life skills sessions, sports training, organising awareness campaigns on child marriage, etc., making them confident to voice their opinions and becoming change agents in their communities
6. Kanyashree Dishari: Special educational and awareness (health, etc.) exposure visits of Kanyashree beneficiaries, organised in North 24 Parganas and Howrah districts
7. Swapner Bhor: K2-level Kanyashree beneficiaries, that is, those who have crossed the age of 18 years, given technical training to make them employable
8. Kanyashree Swabalambi: As part of this project, training provided in tailoring, nursing, handicrafts, etc.; buildings in each block headquarters named ‘Kanyashree’ coming up, which have books, computers with high-speed internet and training centres for vocational skills
9. International awards: United Nations Public Service Award in 2017 and the WSIS Prize 2016 (given by the ITU, an agency of the United Nations) in the ‘Champion in e-Governance’ category; finalist at the GEM-TECH Awards 2016, organised by ITU and UN Women
10. National awards: National e-Governance Award for FY 2014-15, Skoch Order of Merit Award 2015 in the ‘Smart Governance’ category, CSI-Nihilent Award for e-governance for FY 2014-15
