Maharashtra Government on Sunday launched ‘Bhagyashree’ scheme in place of the Sukanya scheme which caters to girls from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
“The launch does not mean we have scrapped Sukanya scheme. We have merely redesigned it,” Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde said at the launch event.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Bollywood actress Bhagyashree, the brand ambassador of the scheme, were present.
As per the Sukanya scheme, the state government was supposed to deposit an amount of Rs 21,200 in bank for a girl child born in a BPL family.
The scheme was aimed at providing Rs. 1 lakh on maturity after the girl completes 18 years of age.
The then Congress-NCP government had launched the ambitious welfare scheme in 2013 to encourage education among girls from economically-weak backgrounds.
The ‘Bhagyashree’ scheme would be linked to the Centre’s ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ scheme.
