Overview

• The 2025 observance carries the UN theme “The Girl I Am, The Change I Lead: Girls on the Frontlines of Crisis,” with Indian advocates pressing for safer schools and comprehensive sex education.
• The Union Health Ministry–PMNCH report released in April finds returns of up to ₹880 for every rupee invested in girls’ health and skills and urges budgeting ₹4,000 crore a year for adolescent programmes.
• National data show progress, including girl literacy at 70.3%, secondary enrolment near 78%, and child marriage down to about 23%, with Beti Bachao Beti Padhao credited with improving the child sex ratio across 400 districts.
• Programme reach has expanded through RKSK, which serves more than 25 million youth annually with nutrition, well-being and mental-health guidance.
• Persistent gaps highlighted by experts include high anaemia among teenage girls, a severe shortage of child mental-health specialists, post–Class 8 dropouts in rural areas, exposure to violence, and a wide rural digital divide.