Publication Details
Abstract
Kanyashree Prakalpa is a flagship conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme launched by the Government of West Bengal in 2013 to empower adolescent girls and prevent child marriage. The program has emerged as a major social welfare initiative aimed at enhancing girls’ education, delaying early marriage, and supporting socio-economic empowerment. This paper explores the conceptual framework, policy design, implementation mechanisms, and multi-dimensional impact of Kanyashree Prakalpa, drawing on both primary and secondary evaluations. It investigates the scheme’s performance across districts, its role in reducing gender disparities, and its association with educational attainment and girl child welfare indicators. The analysis demonstrates that while the scheme has succeeded in reducing dropout rates and increasing female enrollment in higher education, regional disparities, administrative bottlenecks, and socio-cultural challenges persist. The study concludes that to make Kanyashree Prakalpa truly transformative, a more holistic approach involving community sensitization, skill development integration, and long-term monitoring of outcomes is needed.