New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeals to people to adopt their daughters as the symbol of pride had triggered a nationwide campaign. The minister tweeted on India's "National Girl Child Day" that PM's schemes such as 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' have "revolutionised the sex ratio," Asian News International reported.
In further tweets, Shah said that PM Modi changed the thinking of women's development into the resolve of women-led development and opened doors of opportunities. The daughters of India are illuminating their way in every field, he said and added that he conveys his wishes to every one of them on 'National Girl Child Day'.
The 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' scheme was launched on January 22, 2015. As per the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2019-21) reports, India has 1,020 females per 1,000 males, while it was 991 females for 1,000 males in 2015-16. The latest NFHS data shows that India has made a significant gain in sex ratio during the last five years.
Smriti Irani, Nitin Gadkari, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Hardeep Puri, among many Union ministers, paid wishes on National Girl Child Day, celebrated on January 24 annually. The day was declared on January 24, 2008, as the National Girl Child Day with the objective to raise society's consciousness, so that girl child is valued and respected and to make people aware of inequalities, discrimination, exploitation etc., girls faced in society. Further, the day aimed to make the girl child aware of her rights.