Taking into account the apathy towards the girl child, Government today introduced a new scheme called "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao" and allocated Rs 100 crore for this in the union budget.
Presenting the union budget 2014-15 in the parliament, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that it is a "shame that while the country has emerged as a major player amongst the emerging market economies, the apathy towards girl child is still quite rampant in many parts of the country".
The scheme, he said, will help in generating awareness and improve the efficiency of delivery of welfare services meant for women.
"Government would focus on campaigns to sensitize people of this country towards the concerns of the girl child and women", he said.
The process of sensitization must begin early and therefore the school curriculum must have a separate chapter on gender mainstreaming," Jaitley said in his budget speech.
At a time when the country is confronted with women safety issues, government proposed Rs 150 crore to be spent by Ministry of Home Affairs on a scheme to increase the safety of women in large cities.
The budget also proposed that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will spend Rs 50 crore on pilot testing a scheme for safety of women on Public Road Transport.
Further, government proposed setting up "Crisis Management Centres" in all the districts of Delhi this year in all government and private hospitals, funding for which will be provided from the Nirbhaya Fund, the Minister added.
