Though the Government's indecision on the scheme saw the lapse of funds allotted to it last year, this year's Budget has provided Rs 60 crore more -- Rs 160 crore in all. The scheme intends to give a ``major push'' to the enrolment of women at all levels and has been extended to higher educational institutions to prevent girls from being ``typecast'' into particular professions.

The Expenditure Finance Committee of the Human Resource Development Ministry has cleared the scheme and it is now with Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pantfor approval. It is expected to be discussed by the Cabinet next week. But a small matter has to be ironed out at the Planning Commission first: whether to make education for girls free in all courses in all institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Management, or link it to equity (that is, only to those below the poverty line).

Certain conditions will be attached to the scheme: states will be asked to retain the 1998-99 levels of expenditure on girls' education. Also, allocation will be block-wise, not item-wise.

A three-member Planning Commission committee was appointed to decide the criterion, and it has been provided that apart from the 10 per cent of funds set aside for the North-East and one per cent each for Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, the rest will be distributed among states, in inverse proportion to the rate of female literacy.

The other aspect of the scheme that was ironed out was reimbursement for State spending on construction ofhostels, provision of textbooks and tailoring of uniforms. The Planning Commission has decided to provide direct funding to the states, rather than call for accounts and then reimburse expenses.