Lok Sabha Question No. 91 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-15
Subject: Global Gender Gap Report
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: A.P. JITHENDER REDDY, JOSE K. MANI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.91 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2017

## GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT

91. SHRI A.P. JITHENDER REDDY: SHRI JOSE K. MANI:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken cognisance of the World Economic Forum Report on Global Gender Gap in which India slipped 21 places to 104 as compared to 87 last year;
- (b) if so, the findings of the report along with the reasons for the slip in rankings;
- (c) the specific indicators for the rankings in which India fared the worst and the reasons for the performance; and
- (d) the corrective action plan of the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (c) Yes, Madam, 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.
- (d)        The  Government  of  India  has  taken  several  corrective  action  plans  by  implementing  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 arrest the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR),  in  the  age  group  of  0-6  years  and  enabling  education  for  the  girl  children,  ii)  Rajiv Gandhi  Scheme  for  Empowerment  of  Adolescent  Girls  'SABLA'  aiming  at  girls  in  the  age group  11-18,  to  empower  and  improve  their  social  status  through  nutrition,  life  skills,  home skills  and  vocational  training,  iii)  Rastriya  Mahila  Kosh  (RMK),  for  extending  micro-finance services to bring about socio-economic upliftment of poor women, iv) Mahila e-Haat, a unique direct  online  digital  marketing  platform  for  women  entrepreneurs/  SHGs/  NGOs,  v)  Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra, which will  empower  rural  women  through  community participation to create an environment in which they realize 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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