Chhattisgarh Announces Financial Scheme for Girls in Budget

- The new initiative is named the Mahtari Vandan Yojana, which provides ₹1,000 per month (totaling ₹12,000 annually) to all eligible married women, including widows, divorced, and deserted women over the age of 21. The scheme is expected to benefit approximately 70 lakh women across the state. - The 2024-25 state budget, presented by Finance Minister O.P. Chaudhary, allocated ₹3,000 crore for the Mahtari Vandan Yojana. The first installment of ₹655 crore has already been disbursed to beneficiaries. - Overall funding for the Women & Child Development Department saw a 112% increase in the 2024-25 budget, rising from ₹2,675 crore in the previous year to ₹5,683 crore. - This scheme adds to existing programs like the "Noni Suraksha Yojana," launched in 2014 to combat a declining child sex ratio. That program provides ₹1,00,000 to a girl from a below-poverty-line family after she turns 18, completes 12th grade, and remains unmarried. - Another targeted initiative is the "Mukhyamantri Noni Sashaktikaran Sahayata Yojana," started in 2022. It provides a one-time payment of ₹20,000 to each of the first two daughters of registered construction workers for their education and employment after they turn 18. - These financial schemes are designed to address significant gender disparities in education. According to the 2011 census, the female literacy rate in Chhattisgarh was 60.24%, compared to the male literacy rate of 80.27%.