Balika Samriddhi Yojana

Over the years, our Indian Government has implemented several schemes for the betterment and welfare of its citizens. Most government initiatives are applicable to all Indian citizens in every walk of their life irrespective of their caste, class, or religion. One such scheme initiated by the Government is the Balika Samriddhi Yojana. This scheme aims at the prosperity of a female child. It ensures that every girl child who takes birth in financially vulnerable sections of the society is provided with better quality education at the primary and secondary levels. 

The scheme also intends to prevent female babies from becoming victims of infanticide and the stigma associated with female child’s birth in several parts of the country. The scheme came into force in 1997 and honed the responsibility of offering financial assistance to all the female children born after the Independence Day of 1997. All families with girl babies in both the rural and urban sectors of India are eligible for this plan.

Key Features of Balika Samriddhi Yojana

Balika Samriddhi Yojana is a crucial initiative founded by the Central Government of India to support the birth and education of female children among the weaker sections of society. The scheme has a set of well-planned long-term objectives. Some of the main objectives of this Yojana are as follows:

• Enhancing the rate of enrolment and retention of female children in the schools

• Transforming the negative perspective of the Indian families and societies towards the female child’s birth

• Parenting a female child till she attains the legal marriage age

• Help female children to involve themselves in income-generating activities

The subsequent sections of this article describe several aspects of the Balika Samriddhi Yojana, like its perks, eligibility norms, benefits to the mother and child by this scheme, and how to apply?

The table below gives a brief overview of Balika Samriddhi Yojana and its features:

Core Benefits of Balika Samriddhi Yojana

The benefits of Balika Samriddhi Yojana are restricted to two female children in each family irrespective of the total number of children in the house. Moreover, the two female children should be born on or after 15th August 1997. The children who qualify under BSY are entitled to the below-mentioned benefits. 

• A grant sum of Rs.500/- post the female child’s birth

• For the successful completion of every academic year, school-going children are entitled to the annual scholarships mentioned below:

Eligibility Criteria for Balika Samriddhi Yojana

As indicated by the name, the scheme is for female (Balika) children only. There is a list of pre-set criteria that a girl child should qualify to benefit from the Balika Samriddhi Yojana. Before we dive deeper into eligibility norms, we should know that BSY extends its benefits to urban and rural sectors in all Indian districts. 

• A girl child born in a rural family recognized to be under the poverty line as per the criteria mentioned by Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana is eligible to apply for the benefits of BSY.

• Regardless of their recognition, an urban family residing in slums is eligible to apply for Balika Samriddhi Yojana. Girl children born in the families of vegetable and fruit sellers, rag-pickers, and payment vendors are also eligible for the benefits of the scheme. As per the instructions of the Indian Government, all BPL cardholders are eligible for the scheme’s benefits. 

• The girl child should be born on or after the 15th August 1997 to get the benefits of Balika Samriddhi Yojana. 

• Irrespective of the total number of girl children in a family, the family can get the benefits of the scheme only for two of their female children.

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How to Apply for Balika Samriddhi Yojana?

The agency of implementation of Balika Samriddhi Yojana in the rural sector is the ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services), and that in the urban sector is the functionaries of the Health Department. 

The steps to be followed by the eligible candidates to apply for this Yojana are described below:

Step 1: Collect the application form from Health functionaries in urban areas and Anganwadi workers of rural sectors. The eligible candidates can also download an online application form from the official website of BSY. Please note that the application forms are distinguished for rural and urban residents. 

Step 2: Fill in the application with the necessary details to the finest precision to avoid last-minute confusion.

Step 3: The duly filled application forms are to be submitted to the Health functionaries in urban sectors and the Anganwadi employees in the rural areas.

The procedure followed for the deposition and withdrawal of the benefit amounts under Balika Samriddhi Yojana is as follows:

The flow of the amount deposited in your account is as follows:

• Release of payments from the Department of Women and Child Welfare of the Indian Government

• Reception of the amount released by the State and Union Territory governments

• The state or union territory administrations release the payment to the respective implementing agencies. The amount is disbursed to the beneficiaries through the agencies with the help of the infrastructure in the ICDS scheme both in rural and urban areas.

At the exit of the elected bodies, the municipalities and gram Panchayats hone the responsibility of recognizing the beneficiary female children under Balika Samriddhi Yojana in their corresponding functional areas to facilitate the following:

• Dissemination of data regarding the scheme and its application procedure. Voluntary firms are also involved in performing this task. 

• Implementation of BSY as per the stated guidelines of the Indian Central Government.

• Follow up and monitor the distribution of the benefits of the Yojana under its diverse components.

• The applications are distributed by the Municipalities or gram panchayat or any other local bodies through the Anganwadi workers, school teachers, ANMs, Panchayat or municipality staff, and revenue village accountants. This field or village level staff assists the Government in identifying the eligible candidates, explain to them the benefits of BSY, issue the application form, and also help them in filling the forms correctly. The application forms do not incur any cost and can be submitted by the aspirants in either handwritten or type forms. However, the applicants must stick to the standard format of the application.

• The respective gram panchayats or municipalities or any other local bodies at the exit of the elected body shall prepare the list of applications eligible for sanction of benefits.

• The listed applications are verified for authenticity with the documents provided by the applicants of Balika Samriddhi Yojana.

• The eligible applications are approved for sanction of the grant to the beneficiaries. The governing body shall display the list of beneficiaries, who have sanctioned the grant on their notice boards, and the same shall be declared in Gram Sabha meetings.

• The functions of BSY are decentralized upon the agencies that implement the scheme in cases where an elected body such as a municipality, gram panchayat, or the local bodies are not present.

• Every month, the qualified beneficiary’s list will be sent to the implementing agencies. The agency facilitates the beneficiary families to open an account in the nearest post office or nationalized bank. The amount is deposited by the agency as a Cumulative term deposit. It is a joint account of the girl child and a designated officer of the agency. The designated officer shall be liable for the withholding of the amount in cases where the child marries or dies before attaining 18 years.

• The girl child’s mother or a legal guardian shall be issued a passbook that reflects the beneficiary female child’s name. This passbook can also be used as proof of identity of the beneficiary girl child if required. 

• Generally, the beneficiary female child is eligible to avail of the yearly scholarships after she attains six years of age, i.e., when she begins her schooling. The parent or the legal guardian can choose the mode of payment as either a full deposit or a partial deposit after the deductions for premium payments, textbooks, and uniforms.

• The head of the schools in which the beneficiaries study shall furnish, at the start of every academic year, a payment proposal for the scholarship amount to be deposited on the successful completion of the previous academic year into the interest-bearing account of the Balika Samriddhi Yojana female child beneficiaries. 

• Finally, a certificate authorized by the respective municipality or gram panchayat or any other local bodies stating that the beneficiary girl child is alive and unmarried on her 18th birthday shall be submitted to the implementing agency to authorize the payment of accrued deposits and interest sums under the Yojana. 

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Interest Rates for Balika Samriddhi Scheme

Balika Samriddhi Yojana offers reasonable interest rates on the amount deposited in the beneficiary’s account. However, it does not allow withdrawal of the deposited sum before the maturation of the scheme. The beneficiary girl children are allowed to use a portion of the deposited amount to purchase their books and uniforms, though. 

How to Check Account Balance?

The amount of financial assistance provided by the Government is directly deposited into the beneficiary account. In the case of this scheme, the beneficiary is the girl child. The deposit account should be opened in her name and it will bear interest henceforth.

To check the balance sum in your account opened under Balika Samriddhi Yojana, you can visit the associated bank or post office and get entries of your passbook done. To combat the challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak, the banks and post offices have also offered a provision to check the BSY account balance online. However, you must make sure that your internet banking service is activated.

Documents required to Apply for Balika Samriddhi Plan

The eligible families are expected to furnish the following documents to acquire the benefits of Balika Samriddhi Yojana:

• The girl child’s birth certificate is issued by the Government or by the hospital in which the child was born.

• Address proof of parents or legal guardians in case of absence of parents. The address proof may be any one of the following documents.

• Driving license

• Passport 

• Utility bills such as electricity, water, or telephone bills

• Voter’s ID card

• Any other certification issued by the Indian Government as a proof of address

Identity proof of parents or legal guardian. The documents that can be furnished as proof of identity to avail the benefits of this scheme are:

• PAN Card

• Passport

• Driving license

• Utility bills

• Voter’s ID

• Ration card

• Any other Government-issued identity proof

Other Information

The above-mentioned amounts of the scholarship will be deposited into an interest-bearing account that must be opened in the beneficiary girl child’s name in the nearest bank or post office. The account can be easily opened with the help of a designated officer in the nearest bank/post office by the State or Union Territory government. 

• The Government will choose the bank or post office in which the account is to be opened for this purpose. In order to extract the maximum possible interest rate, the National Savings Certificate scheme or Public Provident Fund scheme is given the top priority, and the savings account is given the least priority.

• The account does not allow premature withdrawal of the money to ensure the earning of the maximum possible interest rate on the deposited amount as a benefit of Balika Samriddhi Yojana. Withdrawal of amount is permitted when the girl child attains the age of 18 years.

• Once the girl attains 18 years, she is expected to produce a certificate that states that she is unmarried on her 18th birthday. The certification should be authorized by the Municipality of Gram Panchayat. The agency that implements this will authorize the concerned authorities of the bank or post office to permit her for money withdrawal. She can withdraw the amount standing under her name in the account opened for BSY.

• If the girl is married before attaining 18 years, she is eligible to withdraw only the amount granted to her under Balika Samriddhi Yojana post-birth, i.e., only INR 500 and the interest accrued for the same. However, shall waive off the annual scholarship amount and the amount accrued as interest. The implementing agency is eligible to withdraw the matured deposit amount of the scholarships and accrued interest thereon in such cases. The agency can use this fund to provide benefits specified under this scheme to any other qualifying female child. 

• In cases where the girl dies before attaining eighteen years of age, the implementing agency is authorized to withdraw the benefit amount and facilitate the same to any other beneficiaries eligible under Balika Samriddhi Yojana.

• The beneficiary girl child can use a portion of the scholarship sum granted under this scheme for premium payments under her name for the Bhagyashri Balika Kalyan Bima Yojana’s insurance policies. 

• The female child is also free to utilize the scholarship funds in her name for buying her uniforms and textbooks.

Over to You!

Balika Samriddhi Yojana offers extended benefits to the most beautiful creation of God and the sweetest blessing, the girl child, born in the families of weaker economic sections residing in India. The scheme is administered by the Central Government of India, and its working is decentralized to the establishments at which the hierarchy of elected bodies terminate. 

This scheme has facilitated more than 50 thousand beneficiaries at the time of its inception in 2005. The number of beneficiaries and the amount disbursed under this scheme have shown a linear increase every year. Learn about the scheme thoroughly and utilize its benefits to the fullest if you are eligible.