Abstract
“Ladli Beti Scheme” is a financial and social assistance scheme sponsored by Jammu and Kashmir government, started with a view to counter the declining female sex ratio in the region. The financial assistance schemes like this are a marked departure from the traditional approaches to social programming in India. The cash transfer programmes are a fulfilling method to financially benefit the needy and bring about behavioural changes in society. Ladli Beti scheme in J&K is a similar attempt to address the issue of preference for the male child (son), and the possible reasons for such partiality, like the social and financial difficulties associated with raising the girl child, her marriage and life-long economic compulsions, which are so burdening that it becomes a reason for aborting a female foetus. The social and economic indicators in J&K have not always been very impressive, and the same has been the case with various government schemes aimed at their improvement. The Ladli Beti Scheme is a test for the government; an opportunity to break the myths around cash transfer schemes, and how these can be useful in promoting financial assistance as well as long-term social change.
This paper is an attempt to examine the impact of the scheme in Jammu and Kashmir since its inception in 2015. There shall be a critical evaluation of the scheme, its implementation strategy, operational challenges, outcomes, setbacks, and the present scenario.
Introduction
The Jammu and Kashmir government started the Ladli Beti scheme in 2015 to promote the welfare of the girl child. The idea was to incentivize parents by providing financial assistance and sensitize them so that there is no discrimination against the girls. Under this scheme, the government deposits an amount of Rs 1000 per month in the account of the girl for her education and welfare. The scheme is specifically targeted at the Below Poverty Line/Priority household category. According to the guidelines, the scheme is only open for girls born on or after the 1st of April, 2015. The government offers the facility of registering under the scheme only to the parents whose annual income does not exceed Rs 75000. The scheme lends a helping hand to the poor so as to ensure that the girls in their families do not remain neglected. The financial assistance is provided by the government to the girls till they attain the age of 21 years — then they are given a lump sum of Rs 6.5 lakhs for marriage. The scheme is implemented by the Social Welfare Department of J&K.
Over the years, the region has witnessed an alarming increase in female foeticide with consequent imbalances in the child sex ratios. Many sections of the population give preference to the male child over the girl because of the long-term expenses associated with the girl child. With this scheme, the aim is to achieve a positive sex ratio and gender balance and parity in J&K.
This paper analyses the scheme from different aspects which would critically evaluate the impact, challenges, and success of the scheme. The work is also an attempt to closely evaluate the usefulness of the cash transfer schemes and their larger goal of transformation in prejudiced social matters. It shall be examined as to how financial incentive schemes have contributed towards enhancing the importance of a girl child within a family, and whether they have ensured the survival and well-being of girls.
Poverty is one of the main causes of discrimination against girls. Parents think there is continuous expenditure on raising them up, their education, marriage, and later exchanges of gifts with their in-laws for a lifetime, especially in the context of Jammu and Kashmir. This is one of the reasons for higher dropout rates of girls at the primary, secondary and even higher levels of education, and thus lower literacy rates among the females. For the past several years, there has also been an increased incidence of abortion and female foeticide in the region.
In this scenario, it is important for the government to step in to prevent gender imbalance and promote gender equality. The schemes like Ladli Beti, which are envisioned to operate on dual mechanisms — of providing financial assistance, to bring about behavioural changes — are thus very crucial for the social development in J&K.
Dwindling Sex-Ratio in Jammu and Kashmir
The declining sex ratio is a cautious call for gender equality and for human development. To maintain gender balance, both sexes should enjoy equality in terms of available opportunities.
The sex ratio is an important tool to measure gender equality in a population. It is a powerful indicator of the social health of any society and is a sensitive indicator of women’s status as it conveys a great deal about the state of gender relations (Patel, 2004:887). It shows how much artificial interventions and asymmetrical social placement (social status) have distorted the biological trend and natural balance in terms of the number of females per thousand males (GoJK, 2008:65).
Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen has coined the term “missing women” to describe the growing deficit of women in the world. A change in child sex ratio (0-6 years) index reflects underlying socio-economic and cultural patterns of the society, especially its attitude towards the girl child.
Of all the Indian states, the decline in child sex ratio is highest in Jammu and Kashmir. Census information shows that the sex ratio has fallen from 946 in 1951 to 940 in 2011 whereas in the caseof Jammu and Kashmir, it has first shown an upward trend from 873 in 1951 to 892 in 1981 and later a decline from 892 in 1981 to 883 in 2011.
Trends have shown that the sex ratio has declined for both rural and urban areas. In most of the districts, males have outnumbered females in the urban than in the rural population, indicating sex ratio in urban areas is low as compared to rural areas. The possible reasons for this trend could be easy access to sex determination facilities for women in urban areas and the constant pressure of limiting the size of family that forces them to minimize the possibility of birth of the girl child.
As far as the pattern of change in sex ratio during 2001-2011 is concerned, it is clear that a decline in sex ratio has been noticed more in rural population than among the urban population. The possible cause for this declining trend could be the gradual increase in literacy, thus creating awareness in the rural population about the availability of medical facilities. The strong patriarchal control over the reproductive capacity of rural women also coerces them for sex determination and later abortion of the female foetus. As the benefits of development reach far and wide, people are using the technology to have pre-natal diagnostic tests, which also contribute to and facilitate female foeticide, thus widening the gender gap.
Results of inter-district empirical comparison of female literacy rates and sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir depicts that declining sex ratio is one of the dysfunctions of the development process. These findings confirm that the higher level of literacy (especially female literacy) or an increase in the overall levels of literacy is not directly related to improvement in the child sex ratio.
Of all the 22 districts of Jammu and Kashmir (including Leh and Kargil, which are now a separate UT), only 10 have shown an increase in the trends of sex ratio while the 12 others have shown a decrease from 2001 to 2011. It is evident from the statistics on human development indicators that literacy, economic prosperity, decent life, better health facilities have not proved to improve the gender gaps in the region. There is a stark decline in sex ratio which evokes the grim realities of the times that how girl child is neglected and in the first place not allowed to be born at all.
Better education and reducing gaps in literacy are not a guarantee for equal status of women. This is especially true for Jammu and Kashmir. The declining sex ratio in J&K must be understood in its own context and the social development measures by the government shouldn’t be replicated from other states; it presents a different reality and should be transformed on the basis of that.
The Ladli Beti Yojana was brought in J&K in view of this declining trend in the sex ratio. The idea is to financially incentivize the targeted beneficiaries in rural and urban areas to promote the welfare of the girl child – so that the families do not treat them as a burden but as equal as their sons.
Understanding Ladli Beti Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir
This section of the paper shall focus on evaluating the scheme from various angles, such as features of the scheme, operational challenges, loopholes in implementation strategy and the outcomes and impact.
Some features of the Ladli Beti scheme:
Total tenure of the scheme – As per the guidelines, the total time period of the scheme is 21 years. The term will be divided into two separate phases and only after the completion of the two phases will the money be handed over to the female candidate (beneficiary).
Phases of the scheme – The draft of the scheme highlights that the investment plan will be divided into two distinct phases. Phase I will last for 14 years. Phase II will last for a total of 7 years.
Type of the deposits – The type of deposits in the account will be different. During the first 14 years of Phase I, the account will have a recurring deposit system. Phase II, lasting over a span of 7 years will have a cumulative term deposit system.
Documentation – Application form, sanction papers from Child Development Project Office, KYC forms and recently added in the list of documents, Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC), around which there is still uncertainty.
Eligibility
Age requirements – According to the guidelines of the program, the scheme is only open for those girls born on or after the 1st of April 2015. Any girl born before the specified date will not be permitted to open an account under the scheme.
Area-specific requirements – The interested parents will have to get all the documents sanctioned from the Child Development Project Officer or the CDPO. The offices of Anantnag, Jammu, Budgam, Kathua, Samba, Kishtwar and Pulwama can only sanction the papers.
Income-related requirements – The government will offer the facility of registering under the scheme only to those parents who earn not more than Rs 75000 during a financial year.
The operational aspects of the scheme at first impression are not promising. The slow and confusing pre-conditions to avail the benefits of the scheme have caused a lot of people to lose interest and trust in the government cash-transfer schemes, including this one. In the inception phase of the scheme, the government showed a lot of excitement and publicised the scheme, boasting about its envisioned outcomes and outreach. But with the passage of time, operational jolts uncovered the challenges and the government’s will to overcome those also waned, giving the entire implementation strategy a toss.
There are a number of loopholes in and around the scheme which halt the proper implementation and desired outcomes. There are many difficulties faced by the beneficiaries to avail the benefits of the scheme, bringing the entire implementation strategy under the cloud.
There is also a lack of swiftness among the government officials in identifying and approving genuine cases. As per reports, the cases are piling up at the government offices with the least beneficiaries making it to the list. As per the official data, there are as many as 5,300 cases related to the scheme which have been kept in limbo without any reason, and no approval has been accorded to these files till date. The cases are waiting for verification by the Child Development Project Officers.
Another major problem hindering the implementation of the scheme is the lack of availability and allocation of funds. An estimated amount of Rs 250 lakhs was allocated out of the state exchequer for the implementation of the scheme in all identified districts of Jammu and Kashmir; yet there were instances reported when government officers refused the applications mentioning that there are no funds. Another string in the operational loopholes of the scheme is the lack of government coordination with financial institutions for the disbursement of financial incentives to the beneficiaries, which has grossly slowed down the pace of roll-out of the scheme in J&K.
As per the scheme, the amount of Rs 6.5 lakh will be given to the girl child after she has attained 21 years of age, but the government has been facing huge trouble due to its failure to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with any bank. It could not convince any private players to materialise the scheme as most of the banks had refused to provide the amount announced by the government. Many banks maintained that the government should have consulted them before announcing the scheme, and that it took the decision unilaterally, and that aiding such a huge amount is not possible for them. Some banks had agreed to provide an amount up to Rs 6 lakh but the government was not in a position to accept it.
According to a senior bank official, “It is very surprising how Finance department came to the conclusion of amount Rs 6.5 lakh without working out the technical issues attached to it; as a result, the scheme has now become something which can neither be swallowed nor chewed by the government (thorn on the neck!).”
Another major setback in the effective implementation of the scheme is hectic and confusing documentation to avail the scheme. It is seen that BPL/PHH category people, who are the intended beneficiaries, are allegedly kept at bay due to red-tapism. They are being unnecessarily put in the quagmire of document work. Undue and needless visits to the government offices are a big impediment for the poor people to register for the scheme. Even after that, there is no surety if and when they can gain from the scheme. This issue has been widely discussed that the officers in ICDS wing of the Social Welfare Department are still demanding state subject certificate (PRC), Aadhar card, ration card, income, and date of birth certificates of the girl child wanting to avail benefits of this scheme!
Vinod Choudhary, poor father of a girl told the ‘Daily Excelsior’ that to register for the Ladli Beti Scheme he has gone through a lot, and has visited government offices several times from the last one-and-half years. Even during the pandemic, he managed to arrange the required documents for the office of ICDS (SWD), but later officials also demanded a State Subject certificate of the girl, and no help was provided in this regard.
People are frustrated as there is no clarity on the documents required for the scheme. “If the government has mentioned nowhere that PRC is required, then why do the ICDS officials ask for it?” people ask.
However, now the government claims that it is not a centrally-sponsored scheme but a J&K-specific and J&K–sponsored scheme; and now J&K is a UT so PRC is required. Despite saying this, officials have recently mentioned that “clear instructions regarding this scheme are still awaited”.
Because of the confusion, red-tapism and unclear responses of the government, people are disappointed. There is a general feeling of disillusionment amongst the people regarding this scheme. They feel they are being harassed for making so many rounds to the government offices for no reason.
Why does the government launch such schemes about whose implementation it (government) itself is not sure?
As per the reports, functioning in the concerned offices related to the scheme is so bleak that the people have stopped applying for any financial grant under the programme. Many disappointed people who are desperate to gain from the scheme said: “Officers want us to move from pillar to post for one document or the other. They ask us to produce an income certificate, and then object to its poor print!”
When all the documentation gets completed, applicants are asked to wait, and no specific time frame is given on when the case would get approved by the department.
There is another serious issue regarding the geographic spread of the scheme. Regions that are out of the purview of the scheme feel discriminated against. They are of the view that the child sex ratio is also alarming in their areas, and many people cannot afford the upbringing, education, and marriage of a girl child, which is also becoming a cause of abortion of the female foetus. They feel their areas need the same attention as the ones which come under this scheme. People from areas like Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, etc., are complaining that the government is giving them ‘step-motherly’ treatment. The limited access to the scheme has left people doubting the scheme and the intentions of the government.
There are many challenges and hurdles in the implementation of the scheme. However, at the same time, we cannot deny the value of its existence and potential even if it is limited. It may have loose ends (which is obvious in cash-transfer schemes), but the central objective remains to provide help to the poor families in raising the girl child is very noble. The very presence of the scheme is a ray of hope for future projects and schemes in the J & K region. Even though it is implemented with many shortcomings, the Ladli Beti Yojana has surely created the trial and platform for better-designed schemes in future.
From the last couple of years, the implementation of this scheme has been gaining some momentum and the benefits of the scheme are reaching the people. After August 05, 2019, some 31,636 beneficiaries were added under the scheme.
For instance, in September 2020, some 5,848 new cases were sanctioned by DC Budgam. In July 2021, in a District Task Force Committee meeting, another 976 applications were recommended.
In another district-level committee meeting held in Kathua, 3,159 cases were put on the table for consideration and approval. The cases were scrutinised and all of those were approved. The officers were asked to synergize with eligible beneficiaries so that maximum benefits reach the deserving.
Focus on the effective implementation of the scheme is an indicator of improved strategy for the performance and execution of the scheme. However, the situation won’t improve much until the official processes are fast-tracked, more funds are allocated, and the scheme reaches the maximum genuine cases.
It is reassuring to witness that the implementation of the scheme is picking pace in J&K, though the most crucial question remains: will it continue or crumble?
The core objective behind the provision of incentives under the scheme is to change the overall perception of families on female children. The idea is to provide a positive push to people’s perspectives on gender equality which would eventually contribute to improving sex ratio in Jammu and Kashmir. Clearly, the intention of the scheme was to target the lower-income groups by incentivizing them with cash for their girl child so they do not consider her ‘burden’. However, if we dig deeper in the problem, we would realize that poor statistics on sex ratio in the region over the years have not only emanated from lower-income strata or the rural settings, but the problem area are also there in urban settings with better per capita incomes. Urban dwellers having increased and better access to information and medical facilities, are more decisive about sex selection and hence choosing the termination of a female foetus. Against this backdrop, we need to critically analyse the practicalities of such schemes. If schemes like these are not serving the intended purpose, then we need to question their intention and functionality.
This calls for a systematic evaluation of the scheme which would make it more adaptable to the current context based on the varied social dynamics across different income groups.
Recommendations
Based on the study here are some recommendations to make the Ladli Beti Yojana scheme more suitable for the J&K region so its people achieve the maximum from the scheme:
- The scheme should universally cover all girls aged 18-40.
- With the increasing inflation and expenditures, the government should increase the financial grant amount under the scheme.
- Government should reduce the hassles of too much documentation as it is difficult, and acts as a deterrent for the poor people.
- There should be flexibility in the way schemes can be utilized by the beneficiaries.
- Government should plan to widen its geographical outreach to other deserving areas as well.
- Government should also focus on providing some counselling services to people regarding the scheme on how to apply and avail the optimum from the scheme as many poor and illiterate people do not have knowledge about it, which sometimes make them hesitant to apply for government schemes.
- The applications should be made available through the local schools or local governance bodies.
- Government should take a final stance on the need of the PRC as there is no clarity on whether this document is needed or not.
- The beneficiaries should be allowed to use grant money for medical emergencies related to girl children.
- There should be more and timely allocation of funds to the concerned departments
- Along with cash transfer, the government should also focus on sensitization programs on welfare and empowerment of girl-child which is the basic premise of the scheme. Focusing just on cash transfers is only partial achievement of goals.
- Government should involve NGOs and community groups to spread information and awareness about the scheme and the social change it intends to create.
- There should be timely, systematic monitoring and evaluation of the scheme.
References
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Govt Failed to Implement “Ladli Beti” Scheme In North Kashmir – (kashmirpatriot.com)
Ladli Beti Scheme Yojana in J and K – PRADHAN MANTRI YOJANA
J&K records sharpest decline in child sex ratio (greaterkashmir.com)
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