Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Saturday, 30 May 2026 announced the Indira Gandhi Sukh-Suraksha Yojana, a new state scheme that will deposit Rs 25,000 with an insurance company at the birth of a girl child and provide parents with a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each, with benefits capped at a maximum of two daughters per family.

Context

Posting in Hindi on X (formerly Twitter), CM Sukhu framed the announcement in terms of social necessity, writing: 'बेटियों के जन्म को प्रोत्साहित करना और उनके भविष्य को आर्थिक सुरक्षा देना आज की आवश्यकता है' ['Encouraging the birth of daughters and giving their future financial security is today's need']. He described the new scheme as a direct strengthening of the existing Beti Hai Anmol programme, saying it will make that initiative 'more effective and empowered.'

Under the scheme, the Rs 25,000 deposit at birth is designed to grow into a larger corpus by the time the girl reaches adulthood, while the Rs 2 lakh life insurance cover for each parent provides a safety net for the family unit. Operational details, including the insurance partner and beneficiary registration process, are yet to be notified officially.

Policy Backdrop

Himachal Pradesh launched the Beti Hai Anmol scheme in 2010 to offer financial incentives and scholarships for girl children from below-poverty-line families. The new Indira Gandhi Sukh-Suraksha Yojana builds on that foundation by adding an insurance-linked endowment component and extending parental life cover, reflecting a broader shift in state policy from scholarship-only models to combined insurance-and-savings frameworks.

At the national level, the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme, initiated in 2015, pushed states including Himachal Pradesh to intensify efforts on child sex ratios. Multiple Indian states have since introduced conditional cash transfer and insurance-linked schemes to incentivise the birth and survival of girls. Such measures operate alongside enforcement of the PCPNDT Act and periodic monitoring by the Registrar General of India.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries are girl children born in Himachal Pradesh and their families, with the two-daughter cap ensuring the scheme targets households where girls may otherwise face financial discrimination. The parental life insurance component is particularly significant for BPL and lower-income families, where the death of a breadwinner can push a girl child out of education.

By routing the benefit through an insurance company rather than a direct bank transfer, the government signals an intent to create a long-term savings instrument rather than a one-time cash handout, though the specific product structure and maturity terms remain to be disclosed in official guidelines.

What's Next

The state government is expected to release operational guidelines covering the insurance tie-up, beneficiary registration process, and eligibility criteria. Observers will watch the Himachal Pradesh state budget for a dedicated allocation to the scheme, which will determine the scale of rollout. The announcement also sets a political benchmark ahead of local body elections, with the Congress government keen to highlight its welfare credentials for women and girls.