Lok Sabha Question No. 1301 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-09
Subject: Gender Gap
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: PANKAJ CHOWDHARY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1301 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2018

## GENDER GAP

## 1301.   SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state

- (a) the schemes formulated by the Government to bridge gender gap between men and women in the country;
- (b) whether the Government has taken cognizance of low ranking of India in the Gender Gap Index of World Economic Forum Report;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons for low ranking of India.
- (d) the reaction of the Government thereto; and
- (e) the further steps taken by the Government to bridge the gender gap to ensure better health and education of women?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF  WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

- (a) to  (e)  The  Global  Gender  Gap  Report  2017  was  published  by  the  World  Economic Forum (WEF), which is a Switzerland based nonprofit organization. This report provides the scores on Global Gender Gap Index (GGI), which examines the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories namely, Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. On economic participation  index,  India  is  ranked  at  139,  on  Educational  attainment  112,  Health  and Survival 141 & political empowerment at 15. The report expressed widening of gender gap in political empowerment, health and basic literacy as the reason for India's decline in rank of the Global Gender Gap.

The  Government  of  India  implements  various  schemes/programmes  to  reduce gender  gap  in  all  aspects  of  social,  economic  and  political  life.  The  schemes  being implemented by Ministry of Women and Child Development for welfare of women are i) Beti Bacho Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme to improve the Child Sex Ratio (CSR), in the age group of 0-6 years and enabling girl child education, ii) Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent  Girls  'SABLA'  aims  at  girls  in  the  age  group  11-18,  to  empower  and improve their social status through better nutrition, life and home skills and vocational training,  iii)  Rastriya  Mahila  Kosh  (RMK),  for  extending  micro-finance  services  for social and economic upliftment of poor women, iv) Mahila e-Haat, a unique marketing online  platform  for  women  entrepreneurs/  SHGs/  NGOs  that  provides  direct  link  with customer through the digital platform v) Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra, which will empower rural women through community participation to create an environment in which they realise their full potential.

The Government also runs various employment generation schemes for beneficiaries including women like Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) implemented by Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGA),  Pt. Deen  Dayal  Upadhyaya  Grameen  Kaushalya  Yojana  (DDU-GKY)  scheme  run  by Ministry  of  Rural  Development,  and  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana-  National  Urban Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NULM)  implemented  by  Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban Poverty Alleviation. To enhance skilling programmes of youth including women, a new Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been established to coordinate the skill activities across Ministries. The Ministry of Home Affairs has issued an advisory to  all  State  Governments  to  increase  representation  of  women  in  police  to  33%  of  the total strength.

Ministry of Human Resource Development has taken several steps to reduce the gender gap in education. They are namely National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, the  flagship  programme,  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (SSA)  and  the  subsequent  Right  to Education Act (RTE). Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been opened in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the female rural literacy is below the national  average  to  provide  for  residential  upper  primary  schools  for  girls.  Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha  Abihiyan(RMSA),  to  enhance  the  enrolment  for  classes  IX-X  by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of every habitation, improving quality of education imparted at secondary level.

For improving the political participation, 33%  reservation for  women  in panchayats has been mandated by law in all States.  Also, it may be mentioned that the political participation in terms of voting share of women across the country has increased over the years.

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