On the last day of 2018, Lakshmi, 20, a Nepali felt searing pain and knew she would deliver her baby soon. She and her husband, Akash Buda, 21, also from Nepal, rushed to the BBMP maternity hospital at Tuvarekere, which was the only affordable option for the couple.
Akash had migrated to the city five years ago and works as a watchman in BTM Layout.
Less than an hour after the new year was ushered in, Lakshmi delivered a baby girl. The happiness of the couple’s first child was compounded when doctors and officials informed that their child would be among the first recipients of the Pink Baby scheme this year. “With the amount, at least our child can have a secure future,” says Mr. Buda.
The scheme, conceived by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), will give ₹5 lakh to a girl child born in any of the civic body’s 24 hospitals in the first day of the year. The money comes in the form of a long-term fixed deposit.
“The money will be put in an FD in the names of the parents. But control of the account will be with the local administrator whose permission is needed for withdrawal of funds. Money can only be withdrawn to pay for school and college fees, and will be directly transferred to the educational institution,” says Nirmala Buggi, Chief Health Officer (clinical), BBMP.
The objective of the scheme was two-fold: increase patronage of BBMP maternity hospitals and encourage education of the girl child, she said.
Though the scheme was announced last year, it has been tweaked to include a larger number of beneficiaries.
In 2018, only the first child born in the city in a BBMP hospital was eligible. In 2019, the first girl child born in each hospital (that is, 24 hospitals in all) till March 31 will be eligible for the scheme.
On Tuesday, five girls were the beneficiaries.
Thirteen minutes after the Buda couple had their child, a girl was born to Udaykumar, a cab driver, and his wife Asha. They had rushed to the BBMP hospital at Ganganagar at midnight.
“We have been coming to the BBMP hospital as it is affordable. We didn’t know about the scheme. It is a huge relief for us to know that her education will be taken care of,” said Mr. Udaykumar.