Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY): Objectives, Eligibility & Documents | SBI Life

Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY)

In an effort to support girl children, the Indian government launched the Balika Samridhi Yojana in 1997 as part of its Women and Child Development initiatives. It is well recognised as a crucial programme to encourage the birth and upbringing of female children. Financial help is available to any female child born after August 15, 1997, under this initiative.

The Balika Samridhi Yojana will cover girls living in households below the poverty line (BPL), as defined by the Indian Government, in both rural and urban regions. It focuses primarily on the welfare and advancement of female children. This is to ensure that all girls born into economically disadvantaged families have greater access to high-quality primary and secondary education.

Objectives of Balika Samridhi Yojana

The Balika Samridhi Yojana follows the following objectives to promote the welfare of girl children in India.

• Bring about a constructive shift in how the community, society, and families see mothers and girls.
• Preserving and enhancing the enrolment and retention of female students in schools.
• Nurturing the girl child properly till she reaches marriageable age.
• Assisting girls and inspiring them to engage in revenue-generating pursuits for their personal well-being.

Factors of Balika Samridhi Yojana

At first, the Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY) offered incentives as a gift of Rs. 500 to the mother upon the delivery of a female child. Annual scholarships were also given by the government to the child for educational purposes. However, the precise rules pertaining to the scholarships took some time to come into effect.

In order to guarantee that the girl child receives significant benefits, BSY completely redesigned and restructured its perks and regulations between 1999 and 2000. Therefore, the following advantages are now claimed by eligible girl children under the Balika Samridhi Yojana by default:

1. Rs.500/- is received by the family as a post-birth grant amount
2. There are annual scholarships for girls enrolled with the BSY who were born on or after August 15, 1997. The scholarship's specifics are shown below:

Eligibility and Coverage under Balika Samridhi Yojana

As the program's name implies, only girl children are eligible for this Yojana. The following is a list of qualifying requirements that the applicant must meet in order to get benefits from BSY:

• Every Indian district, including rural and urban regions, is covered by BSY.
  1. Families identified as falling below the poverty line based on the standards outlined in the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana will be the target category for rural inhabitants.
  2. The Balika Samridhi Yojana benefits will provide coverage to urban residents' families residing in slums, regardless of their status as such. The programme also provides coverage to families that work as payment vendors, rag pickers, vegetable and fruit vendors, etc. Additionally, in accordance with directives from the Indian government, surveys are carried out to identify BPL households, and lists under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) are created that may be used to maintain a record of the target groups.
• The Balika Samridhi Yojana benefits girls from low-income households who were born on or after August 15, 1997.
• Regardless of the number of children in the household, only two female children from each family are eligible for all the benefits under this system.

How to Apply for Balika Samridhi Yojana?

There is an online application mechanism for the Balika Samridhi Yojana scheme. Professionals from the Health Department administer BSY in urban areas, while Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) handles it in rural regions. Families should adhere to these crucial guidelines:

• Forms for applications are available from Health Department staff members and Anganwadi workers in rural areas. The forms are also available online, although recipients in urban and rural areas must use specific forms.
• Complete the form with all the necessary information.
• Fill out the form on the same website where you got it.

Documents Required for Balika Samridhi Yojana

Applicants must provide a number of documents in order to claim the benefits of the Yojana. Among them are the following:

• The girl's birth certificate may have been obtained from the government or the hospital where she was born.
• Provide evidence of address for parents or legal guardians. This can be any ID from a passport, driver's licence, phone or power bill, voter ID card, ration card, or any other document issued by the Indian government.
• Legal guardians’ or parents' identity verification might involve a PAN card, passport, voter ID card, matriculation certificate, or any other certificate issued by the Indian government attesting to the female child's identity.

Terms and Conditions under Balika Samridhi Yojana

The beneficiary's account is credited with the appropriate amount of financial support, which includes the post-birth award and educational scholarship amounts under the Balika Samridhi Yojana.

• The money is deposited into an interest-bearing account that is set up in the beneficiary female child's name.
• The sum is contingent upon earning the highest interest rate feasible. Thus, it is suggested that this female beneficiary look into savings plans like National Savings Certificates or Public Provident Funds (PPF).
• Under the Bhagyashri Balika Kalyan Bima Yojana, the female child's insurance policy premiums can only be paid using a portion of the post-birth stipend and educational scholarship. Additionally, the funds accumulated under the yearly scholarship may be used to help the girl buy textbooks, clothes, and other necessities. After the requisite payment, the leftover sum must be properly maintained in the beneficiary's account.
• Once the female child turns eighteen and gets the certificate from the Gram Panchayat/Municipality attesting to her single status on that day, the agency gives permission to the bank or post office to let her withdraw money from the interest-bearing account.
• If the girl marries before turning eighteen, she will forfeit the yearly scholarship money and any accumulated interest. Once interest has accumulated, she will be eligible to receive only the Rs. 500 post-birth grant amount.
• Should the daughter, regrettably, pass away before turning eighteen, the whole balance in her account would be taken out.

Key Statistics from Balika Samridhi Yojana

Over 50,000 people have benefited from the Balika Samridhi Yojana since its launch in 1997. This is a tabular depiction of the assistance disbursement broken down by year:

FAQs - Balika Samridhi Yojana (BSY)

What is the benefit provided to the beneficiary girl child under BSY?

A: The beneficiary female child receives her first benefit at the moment of her birth. A one-time payment of Rs. 500 is given to the mother of the qualified female child, who is the beneficiary. As she grows up, she continues to receive annual scholarships for her education till class X. The value of the scholarship increases for each class.

When can one apply for this scheme?

A: Right now, any eligible girl child can apply for the open Balika Samridhi Yojana.

How many girl children are eligible from a single family for the scheme?

A: Regardless of the number of children in the household, only two female children from each family are eligible for all the benefits of this system.

What is the last date to apply for this scheme?

A: The application deadline for this plan is not fixed. One may apply whenever they want to. After the child is born, the lowest assistance amount is Rs. 500, and the maximum scholarship amount is Rs. 1000 per year.