Kanyashree Prakalpa in West Bengal, India: Justification and evaluation

The Kanyashree Prakalpa introduced by the Government of West Bengal in 2013 is a conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme aimed at simultaneously reducing under-age marriage and adolescent dropout among girls. This scheme has received widespread recognition at both national and international levels, including the most prestigious award for public services, The United Nations Public Service Award in 2017.

This scheme was awarded the first place in the category “Reaching the Poorest and Most Vulnerable through Inclusive Services and Participation” in the Netherlands in July 2017. In this report, the authors tried to analyse the justification for the implementation of this scheme and the impact of this scheme on underage marriage and adolescent dropout among girls in rural West Bengal.