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Assam’s Majoni scheme will pay pregnant mothers Rs 1,000 for two health check-ups, and Rs 5,000 in a fixed deposit for girl-children to avail of when they reach the age of 16
The Assam government has come up with a scheme worth Rs 1.8 billion to do away with the traditional gender bias, by offering financial assistance to girl-children and radical measures to improve the health of would-be mothers. As part of a scheme called ‘Majoni’ (Assamese for little girls), a newborn girl-child will be given a fixed deposit worth Rs 5,000, while would-be mothers will get Rs 1,000 in cash -- Rs 500 each at the time of the first two check-ups. But there is a catch. The scheme is applicable only to those who are born at government or charitable hospitals. And this applies also to would-be mothers and cash incentives -- they have to get their check-ups done at government-run hospitals. “The fixed deposit of Rs 5,000 can be encashed by the girl herself when she attains the age of 16 (50% of the total amount accrued), and the full amount when she turns 18,” Assam’s health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told Indo Asian News Service. “She can use the money to get admission in a college when she turns 16, after passing her board exams, and two years later when she completes 12th standard and qualifies to get admission in engineering or a medical college, she can use the remaining amount,” he added. “We want to do away with any form of gender bias and help the girl-child grow with dignity,” the health minister said. Fatima Akhtar, a three-week-old girl-child, was the first recipient of the Majoni scheme. The special assistance scheme for girl-children is expected to cost the state exchequer Rs 1 billion annually. The government also launched an ambitious family planning scheme -- couples choosing not to have children for two years after getting married will get an incentive of Rs 5,000; those who opt not to have children for three years will receive Rs 7,500. Source: Indo Asian News Service, February 19, 2009
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