Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, on Wednesday unveiled the state's flagship "Ladli Laxmi 2.0" financial aid programme, which aims to empower girls by encouraging them to seek higher education. After taking office as Chief Minister for the first time in 2005, the Chief Minister introduced the "Ladli Laxmi" programme in 2007. The programme offers financial aid to qualified girl children to guarantee that they receive a solid education and to alter society's perception of the birth of girls.
In order to help the 1,477 Ladli Laxmi plan beneficiaries further their studies, Mr. Chouhan also transferred a total of Rs. 1.85 crore into their bank accounts on this occasion, calling it a "historic" day. The Chief Minister claimed that after being elected as a Lok Sabha representative from Vidisha in 1991, he began using the money he received as an MP's allowance to pay for female marriages.
He continued by saying that after taking office as the state's chief minister in 2005, he had instructed the staff to develop a plan to make a girl into a "lakhpati" from the moment of her birth by making periodic deposits into her name that would total Rs 1.43 lakh when she reached 21.