CPCT Test 16
15 min30 WPM required441 words
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Child welfare is a central priority of the Madhya Pradesh state government, reflected in a range of programmes, institutions, and legislative measures aimed at protecting children from exploitation, ensuring their access to education and nutrition, and empowering girls in particular to achieve their potential in a social environment that historically constrained their opportunities. The Ladli Laxmi Yojana, launched by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2006 under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, is among the most celebrated and widely replicated child welfare schemes in India, designed to change societal attitudes towards the girl child, reduce the practice of sex-selective abortion, and improve the long-term welfare of girls born in poor families. Under the scheme, the government invests a specified amount in National Savings Certificates in the name of every eligible girl child born after the scheme's launch, with additional amounts deposited at intervals during her school education and a lump sum payable to the girl on her marriage after attaining legal adulthood or at the age of 21. The scheme provides a direct financial incentive for families to register the birth of a girl child, keep her in school through Class XII, and delay her marriage until the legal age, linking the payment of benefits to compliance with these conditions. Since its launch, the Ladli Laxmi Yojana has benefited millions of girl children in Madhya Pradesh and has been adopted in modified forms by many other states as a model for girl child welfare. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme of the Government of India, launched in 2015, drew inspiration in part from the Ladli Laxmi model and was rolled out nationally with particular focus on districts with adverse sex ratios. The Integrated Child Development Services, universalised across Madhya Pradesh, provides nutrition, health, immunisation, and pre-school education services through a network of anganwadis covering every village and urban slum in the state. The Mid-Day Meal scheme provides a cooked meal to children in government and aided schools up to Class VIII, improving attendance and nutrition simultaneously. Child labour is addressed through the Child Labour Act enforcement and the convergent rehabilitation programme for child labourers under the National Child Labour Project. The Child Protection Services under the Integrated Child Protection Scheme operate Childline services, child welfare committees, juvenile justice boards, and child care institutions under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act to protect children in difficult circumstances, including those who are abandoned, abused, trafficked, or in conflict with the law. The Madhya Pradesh government has prioritised the improvement of primary school enrolment, transition to secondary education, and reduction of dropout rates for girls through targeted incentive schemes and community mobilisation programmes.