Lok Sabha Question No. 4118 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-19
Subject: Women Safety Initiatives under Nirbhaya Fund
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shyam Yadav Singh, Dileshwar Kamait, Vishnu Dutt Sharma, Jaskaur Meena, Geeta Kora, Nihal Chand Chauhan, Jugal Kishore Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO 4118

TO BE ANSWERED ON 19.03.2021

## WOMEN SAFETY INITIATIVES UNDER NIRBHAYA FUND

## †4118. SHRI SHYAM SINGH YADAV:

SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

SHRI VISHNU DATT SHARMA:

SHRIMATI JASKAUR MEENA:

SHRIMATI GEETA KORA:

SHRI NIHAL CHAND:

SHRI JUGAL KISHORE SHARMA:

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

- (a)      the  salient  features  of  Nirbhaya  Fund  scheme  along  with  the  targets  set  and achievements made under the scheme since its inception;
- (b) whether any financial assistance is being provided to  Non-Governmental Orgnisation under the said scheme and if so, the details thereof;
- (c)      whether the Government has any mechanism in place to assess the effectiveness of women safety initiative being funded under the said scheme; and
- (d)     if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a) & (b):   The Government has set up a dedicated fund Nirbhaya Fund, which can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women. It is a non-lapsable corpus fund, being administered by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA),  Ministry  of  Finance.  As  per  the  guidelines,  the  responsibility  of  Ministry  of Women  and  Child  Development  (MWCD)  includes  (i)  nodal  Ministry  to  appraise/ recommend  proposals  and  schemes  to  be  funded  under  Nirbhaya  Fund  and   (ii)   to review and monitor the progress of sanctioned schemes/ projects in conjunction with the line  Ministries/Departments.  Under  Nirbhaya  Fund,  schemes/  projects  worth  Rs. 9288.45 Cr. have been appraised till date. An amount of Rs.5712.85 crore has been allocated  and an  amount  of  Rs.3544.06  crore  has  been  disbursed/  released  by  the concerned Ministries/ Departments.

As per the Framework for Nirbhya Fund (available at https://wcd.nic.in/sites/default/files/Approved%20framework%20for%20Nirbhaya%20Fu nd\_0.pdf),  DEA  is  the  nodal  Ministry  for  any  accretion  into  and  withdrawal  from  the corpus.   Budget  allocations  against  approved  projects  are  made  in  the  budget  of  the respective  Ministries/  Departments  through  Demands  or  Supplementary  Demands  for Grants.   The  salient  features  of  Nirbhaya  Fund  like  project  contours,  procedure  for submitting  proposals,  procedure  for  processing  proposals,  funding  pattern  etc.  is indicated in the aforesaid framework. Funding to Non-Governmental Orgnisations is not envisaged under the framework.

(c)   &    (d):    An  Empowered  Committee  (EC)  of  Officers  constituted  under  Nirbhaya Fund appraises and recommends the proposals for funding under Nirbhaya Fund and also  reviews  the  status  of  implementation  from  time  to  time  in  conjunction  with  the concerned Ministries/ Departments/ Implementing Agencies. After appraisal by the EC, the  concerned Ministry/ Department get / obtain approval of the Competent Financial Authority (CFA) to release the funds out of their respective budget and implement the project  /scheme  directly  or  through  States/UTs  /  Implementing  Agencies.  Further,  the monitoring  and  reporting  mechanism  is  followed  by  the  State/  UT  Governments/ Implementing Agencies at their level as a part of the respective proposal.

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