Kanyashree scheme – Page 2 – All India Trinamool Congress

WB CM’s pet project Kanyashree – A tool to curb girl trafficking

Posted on August 14, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee’s dreamproject Kanyashree has played a crucial role in curbing crimes like trafficking of women and children and child-marriage, the joint secretary ofthe women and child development and social welfare department, Sharmistha Das,said.

Using Kanyashree as a weapon, the state government is now urging the police and non-government organizations to goahead to the micro level to generate awareness so that such crimes are minimised in the state.

In a special training programme for police personnel jointly organized by the district police, district legal services authority(DLSA) and an NGO, the joint secretary emphasised on the utility of Kanyashree.

The joint secretary, in her session on ‘Kanyashree project as tool for preventing child trafficking’ said, “West Bengal is home to 88.34 lakh teenager girls as per the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). Most of these girls are vulnerable to child trafficking in theform of child marriage and other forms of coercion. Kanyasree project, aninitiative of the government of West Bengal, is an exclusive scheme to save thevulnerable girls.”

Sixty police personnel who attended the programme were explained on how to take action against trafficking of teenagers and prevent banes like child marriage.

Impact of Kanyashree: School dropout rate among girls comes down in Bengal

Posted on August 14, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

That actions speak louder than words is exemplified yet again by West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee. Her vision is showcased through her mission. Kanyashree, the internationally acclaimed project started by the Government of West Bengal, has borne fruit.

According to data from the National Sample Survey 2014, the school dropout rate among girls in the State has come down. The report says that while the National average for school dropout rate for girls is 3.23%, the same for the State is 1.28%. In the 2009 survey, the figure stood at 2.34% for Bengal.

About the scheme

The Kanyashree Scheme was inaugurated by the Trinamool Congress government in October, 2013, with the express purpose of ensuring the education of girls and thereby preventing forced child marriage.

Under the scheme, the government provides an annual scholarship of Rs. 500 to girls between 12 and 18 years (class eight to class 12) to continue with their studies, provided they are unmarried. A one-time grant of Rs 25,000 is also provided to the girl, once she reaches the age of 18, to pursue higher studies.

Kanyashree scheme – Winning accolades worldwide

Posted on August 14, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee will be present on the celebration of Kanyashree Divas at Nazrul Mancha today. 27 lakh girls have been enrolled under this scheme.

The Kanyashree Scheme, started under the initiative of the West Bengal Chief Minister has aimed on the empowerment of girls, some of whom will be felicitated by the Chief Minister today.

The Kanyashree has received numerous international awards and was invited at the International Girl’s Summit and won acclaims of the DFID and the UNICEF. It also won the first prize for all round development in digital inclusion by Manthan for the South Asia and Asia Pacific region as well as the national e-Governance award for the year 2014-15.

The West Bengal Government has already increased budget allotment for this path-breaking scheme which has proved to be fruitful in decreasing women’s trafficking as well.

Bengal village girls beat boys in attendance, Kanyashree a factor

Posted on July 9, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

A recently released set of data shows adolescent girls in rural Bengal setting a nationwide trend with their keenness to go to school. Comapred to their male counterparts, the central survey shows, rural girl students have a better attendance record.

The NSSO survey , carried out in January-June 2014, shows that in the gross attendance ratio and net attendance ratios in primary , upper primary and secondary classes, girls have overtaken boys by a good measure in rural Bengal. The results came in three months after the West Bengal Government’s launched its Kanyashree scheme -a conditional cash transfer or CCT to stop adolescent dropouts among girl students.

State women and child development minister Dr Shashi Panja said, “When Kanyashree was launched by the Chief Minister in October 1, 2013, it was followed by a sustained media campaign. This, we felt, had touched the common psyche. Otherwise, the number of beneficiaries would not have reached 2.5 million. In addition, we always had a Sabala project, in which, through ICDS centers in six districts, we try to spread awareness about dropping out from school. This is a welcome development.“

The minister’s statements on the impact of government schemes are not without reason. A bulk of the education infrastructure is still provided by the government, with private players lagging significantly .The NSSO survey indicates that for every 1,000 primary, upper primary, secondary and graduate schools, the government sponsors 927 while only 26 are private-aided.

What makes this attendance data significant is the amount of effort a girl in rural Bengal has to make to go to high school. For every 1,000 schools surveyed, 190 upper primary schools are approximately 2-5km from home; 23 upper primary schools are more than 5km away; 287 secondary schools are 2-5km away from home and 56 secondary schools more than 5km away.

Biswa Bangla: Bengal’s schemes now globally recognised

Posted on May 20, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

Shaking away the shackles of the past, West Bengal has now emerged as a model of not only India but the entire world.

Several of the schemes and projects initiated by the Trinamool Government in West Bengal have gained international recognition, thus paving the way for Biswa Bangla.

Kanyashree

The ‘Kanyashree Prakalpa’ or ‘Kanyashree Scheme’ is one of the flagship schemes of the Government, which gained widespread recognition. Launched on October 1, 2013, in about a year-and-a-half, more than 22 lakh girls have registered under the scheme. The government plans to extend the benefit to 40 lakh girls in the next two years.

UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has become a partner of the West Bengal Government for the implementation of Kanyashree scheme. The partnership between UNICEF and West Bengal Government is not a superficial involvement but a technical partnership. The Department for International Development (DFID), United Kingdom and UNICEF had together selected the scheme for presentation at the Girl Summit 2014 in London.

WB Govt observes Kanyashree Dibas on August 14

Nadia district gets UN Award

Another scheme to get such recognition is the ‘Sabar Souchagar’ or ‘Toilets For All’ project for the district of Nadia. It won the first place in the Asia-Pacific region in the ‘Improving the Delivery of Public Services’ category at the United Nations Public Service Award 2015.

The project has also been selected by Loughborough University, UK as an inspiring model for eliminating open defecation, and it is to be presented at the WEDC International Conference in July.

Nadia declared as India’s first ODF district

Bengal Panchayati Raj

The project to strengthen panchayati raj institutions in West Bengal has been immensely praised by World Bank. According to the World Bank report presented in 2013, the performance of gram panchayats improved substantially on all fronts.

As a result, out of 1000 gram panchayats from nine project districts, 792 qualified for receiving the block grant of FY13-14, based on an independent Annual Performance Assessment undertaken between May 2012 and September 2012.

Rural development – Priority of WB Govt

Health insurance

The World Bank and the Global Alliances for Social Protection programme (GIZ) have lauded West Bengal’s progress in executing the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY). The scheme provides cashless treatment benefits of up to Rs. 30,000 per family annually through a network of 1,043 hospitals throughout Bengal.

West Bengal has been invited to share its experience in social sector insurance in a global learning forum in Berlin, organised in June 2015 by World Bank and GIZ.

WB CM distributing benefits to people

Bengal – A model for India

Posted on May 20, 2015 | by admin2 | Leave a Comment

There was a saying, ‘What Bengal thinks today, India thinks tomorrow’. Thanks to three decades of misrule and defective governance of the Left Front, the phrase had lost its meaning. Not any more.

In the last four years, Bengal has reclaimed her position as the best among states in several sectors and has become a model for others to emulate.

The government of West Bengal sincerely believes in inclusive governance. WB CM has been working relentlessly working for people of all castes, religions, genders, communities and creed.

When Trinamool Congress led government came to power in Bengal, it had inherited a huge debt amounting to almost Rs 2 lakh crore. Despite the debt burden, governance has not slowed down in the state.

1. More than 75 lakh people of the State have been benefited by the fair price medicine shops set up on the initiative of the West Bengal Chief Minister Ms Mamata Banerjee. It has been estimated that during the last one and half years, since the opening of fair price medicine shops in Government Hospitals, the medicine buyers have received at total discount of Rs 205.51crore.

2. The State has also launched fair price diagnostic centres where procedures like dialysis and MRI are available at nominal cost. Treatment for cancer, cardiac and blood-related ailments has been made free.

3. West Bengal has also bagged international recognition in the implementation of the national health insurance scheme. The work on the programme had been highly appreciated by the World Bank and Global Alliances for Social Protection from GIZ (German Cooperation).

4. West Bengal was once a Left-Wing Extremism affected state. After 2011, thanks to the developmental initiatives of the state government, Maoist violence has subsided in the Jangalmahal area. Peace reigns there now.

5. West Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme has benefitted 22 lakh girls till date. Launched in 2013, the scheme provides financial assistance to girls to pursue their education. The scheme, which has been appreciated by UNICEF and honoured at London Girls’ Summit 2014, has hugely brought down the rate of dropout among school-going girls.

6. Recently the Rajya Sabha passed a Private Members’ Bill for the protection of rights of transgender. West Bengal had formed a Transgender Development Board, the first in India, way back in March, 2015.

7. The government is also committed to the upliftment of backward classes. On the lines of Kanyashree scheme, WB CM started the Shikshashree scheme for SC/ST students in the state. WB CM also created an independent ministry for Tribal Development.

8. The state government has introduced 17% reservation for OBCs without affecting the general category seats. Instead the government increased the infrastructure for accommodating the OBC students.

9. The government has set a record in building toilets. Nadia district received the United Nations Public Service award for being the first district in India to be declared ‘open defecation free’.

10. The State of West Bengal has received 11 national prizes for its work at the Panchayat level in the year 2014. Bengal was best among States in expenditure for creating jobs under NREGA scheme.

11. Excise Department was conferred the prestigious Platinum Award by Skoch Foundation at the 37th Conference on “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”, hosted with support by a number of Central Government Ministries for the unique initiative of introducing e-Abgari Scheme for online filing of tax and tracking performance under the Excise Department.

12. Panchayat and Rural Development Department has also been conferred the Skoch Order of Excellence for outstanding work in 100-Days Work Scheme and Skoch Order of Merit for Web-based Monitoring System by Institutional Strengthening of Gram Panchayats Project in Bengal.

13. Bengal had been adjudged as the BEST STATE in All India Skill Competition, 2013 and awarded Certificate of Merit and Running Shield.

14. West Bengal bagged the Krishi Karman award for the third year in a row in 2014 for outstanding performance in the agriculture sector.

15. The tableaux of West Bengal government, featuring the famous Chhau dance of Purulia, bagged the first prize at the Republic Day parade in 2013.