Mayor announced free education to the first baby girl born in 2018

Bengaluru: The first baby girl born on the New Year day at 00:05 at a civic hospital in the city would get free education up to undergraduate level.

“The first baby girl born five minutes after Sunday midnight in the New Year at the Rajajinagar civic hospital has been chosen for free education up to under-graduation from the interest earned out of Rs 5 lakh that will be deposited in a bank by the BBMP,” its spokesman L Suresh told the media.

The baby girl was born to 25-year-old Pushpa M, wife of Gopi M, is also their first child.

“We are very grateful to the civic authorities for this scheme and helping us with our child’s education,” the child’s father told.

In a bid to celebrate girl child and encourage their education, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had earlier announced that the first girl child in a civic hospital on the New Year would be given free education.

“The first baby girl born on January 1 through a normal delivery at any civic hospital in the city would get free education up to degree level in a college, so that girls are not considered a burden,” Bengaluru Mayor R Sampath Raj had told the media earlier.

“Pregnant women, who go to civic hospitals for delivery, are generally from poor families and unfortunately think a girl child is a burden to bring her up,” Mr Raj had remarked earlier.