Kanyashree Prakalpa
1. To reduce school dropout rate and
prevent early marriage Type of project Scholarship scheme for girls
2. Kanyashree is an initiative taken under
the Government of West Bengal by the Mamata Banerjee on 8 March 2013
3. To improve the life and the status of
the girls by helping economically backward families with cash so that families
do not arrange the marriage of their girl child before eighteen years because
of economic problem.
4. The purpose of this initiative is to
uplift those girls who are from poor families and thus can't pursue higher
studies due to tough economic conditions.
5. It has been given international
recognition by the United Nations Department of International Development and
the UNICEF.
6. Kanyashree Prakalpa has been designed
to ensure that girls stay in school and delay their marriages till at least age
of 18.
7. To ensure an equity focus, the scheme
is open only to girls from families whose annual income is R. 1, 20,000/- or
less.
8. The first is K1, an annual
scholarship of Rs. 1000/- to be paid annually to the girls from 13 to 18 years
of age group for every year that they remain in education, provided they are
unmarried at the time. (Note: During the years 2013–14 and 2014-1 the annual
scholarship was Rs. 500/-).
9. The second benefit is K2, a one-time
grant of 25,000/-, to be paid when girls turn 18, provided that they are
engaged in an academic or occupations pursuit and are unmarried at the time.
10. In June 2017 United Nations honors
Kanyashree with the highest public service award.