• BASISTHA SARANIA

Abstract : Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Aasoni (MMNMA) is a Government of Assam intervention that uses direct financial assistance as an admission incentive to encourage girls to continue education at higher secondary, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The scheme explicitly identifies increased enrolment, reduction of dropouts, improvement in girls’ educational attainment and elimination of child marriage among its objectives. This paper assesses the scheme as a social policy instrument linking educational retention with delayed marriage. The study adopts a descriptive and analytical secondary-data approach, drawing primarily on official Government of Assam guidelines and publicly available demographic evidence, including National Family Health Survey indicators. The analysis shows that the scheme has a strong preventive logic: continued institutional enrolment can raise the opportunity cost of early marriage, provide families with a visible economic reason to support girls’ education, and strengthen girls’ transition beyond secondary schooling. The 2025–26 guideline provides ₹1,000 per month for Classes XI–XII, ₹1,250 per month for undergraduate students and ₹2,500 per month for postgraduate/B.Ed. students, for up to ten months, with payment through Direct Benefit Transfer. However, financial assistance alone cannot eliminate child marriage. Persistent poverty, social norms, family pressure, school accessibility, safety and uneven institutional capacity can continue to affect girls’ educational trajectories. The paper argues that effectiveness should be assessed through longitudinal evidence on retention, transition, attendance, age at marriage and beneficiary outcomes rather than enrolment counts alone. The study concludes with recommendations for stronger monitoring, convergence with child-protection mechanisms, community engagement, targeted support in high-risk areas and independent impact evaluation.

Keywords - Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Aasoni, girls’ education, child marriage, Assam, educational retention, financial incentive, Direct Benefit Transfer, social policy.

"MUKHYA MANTRIR NIJUT MOINA AASONI: AN ASSESSMENT OF ITS ROLE IN PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE AND PROMOTING GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN ASSAM", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 9, page no.a162-a168, September-2026, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2609017.pdf

"MUKHYA MANTRIR NIJUT MOINA AASONI: AN ASSESSMENT OF ITS ROLE IN PREVENTING CHILD MARRIAGE AND PROMOTING GIRLS’ EDUCATION IN ASSAM", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.13, Issue 9, page no. ppa162-a168, September-2026, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2609017.pdf