Impact of Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana on girls with reference to Muzaffarpur district, Bihar

Social welfare seeks to enhance the well-being and quality of life for individuals. It specifically concentrates on alleviating the struggles of the poor, less fortunate, marginalized, and disadvantaged groups in society, while also improving their overall quality of life. In India, having a daughter has historically been viewed as an undesirable choice due to societal customs surrounding marriage and dowry expectations. Even today, various segments of Indian society perceive a girl child as a liability. According to the 2011 Census data, there are merely 918 girls for every 1000 boys in India. In this context, the responsibilities of both the government and society become crucial in ensuring that girls are allowed to be born and thrive. The Indian government has launched multiple initiatives aimed at empowering women, granting them the social recognition they rightfully deserve, and providing opportunities for economic independence; one such initiative is the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), which aims to address the gender inequalities present in Indian society. The primary goal of this study was to assess the impact of the program on the lives of girls. The study was conducted on a sample size of 300 in the Muzaffarpur District, Bihar. And find out as the impact of the programme, the majority of the respondents are investing up to 20% of their income, and the next majority of the respondents are investing 40% of their income in the SSY Account for their daughters’ bright future. The majority of the respondents agree that the SSY Account is a safe and secure account that helps people to save for their daughters’ futures, it helps to save for the reduction ever ever-increasing marriage expenses and makes it easier for the girls’ higher education.