Lok Sabha Question No. 3815 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-25
Subject: Restoration of Workforce Balance
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Kirit Premjibhai Solanki

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 3815

TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2022

## RESTORATION OF WORKFORCE BALANCE

3815. DR. (PROF.) KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI:

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

- (a) whether in view of many working women having dropped out of the labour force over  the  past  two  years  as  a  consequence  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  the Government  is  considering  a  strategy  to  work  towards  restoring  workforce balance and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether  many  children  have  also  dropped  out  of  schools  on  account  of  the conditions created by the pandemic;
- (c) if so, whether the Government is exploring alternative modes of learning, along with  traditional  methods  to  fill  learning  gaps  and  if  so,  the  framework  being formulated  to  successfully  integrate  these  children  into  the  formal  education system at a later stage;
- (d) whether NFHS-5 has recorded worsening of anaemic levels in under-5 children and  if  so,  whether  Anaemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB)  provides  for  local  level intervention in this regard; and
- (e) the  details  of  measures  outlined  under  AMB  to  induce  behavioural  change among people so that they shift towards a diet rich in iron?

## ANSWER

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

(a): Labour  Bureau  has  been  entrusted  with  the  task  of  conducting  the  Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) as a component of All India Quarterly Establishment based Employment Survey (AQEES) that was also designed to collect the information on the Covid-19  pandemic  impact  on  the  operational  status  and  employment  status  of  the establishments in the selected 9 sectors namely (i) manufacturing, (ii) construction (iii) trade (iv) transport (v) education (vi) health (vii) accommodation and restaurants (viii) IT / BPOs and (ix) financial services. As per reported data, there were a total of 90 Lakh female employees prior to lockdown (before 25th March, 2020) which reduced to 83.3 lakh as on 1st July, 2020. However, as reported in 2nd Quarterly Employment Survey, 2021, number of female employees as on 01.07.2021 has been reported as 32.1% of the  total,  i.e.  approximately  99.71  lakh,  well  above  the  number  reported  prior  to lockdown  and  hence  indicates  that  the  impact  during  initial  phase  of  pandemic  was temporary and has no major impact on overall employment of women.

The  Government  has  taken  several  initiatives  to  support  and  protect  the  interest  of women entrepreneurs and MSME through stimulus given under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Packages  to  combat  the  impact  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  in  India.  The  packages comprise of schemes having impact across various sectors of the economy. The review of  the  progress  made  in  implementation  of  the  stimulus  package  announced  under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Packages is done regularly.

Further, to boost employment and livelihood opportunities for migrant workers, including women  migrant  workers,  returning  to  villages,  in  the  wake  of  COVID-19  outbreak, Government  of  India  has  launched  Garib  Kalyan  Rojgar  Abhiyaan  (GKRA)  on 20.06.2020. Government of India under PM-SVANidhi Scheme has facilitated collateral free  working  capital  loan  upto  Rs.10,000/-  for  one-year  tenure  to  street  vendors,  to resume  their  businesses.  Under  Pradhan  Mantri  Garib  Kalyan  Yojana  (PMGKY), Government of India has contributed both 12% employer's share and 12% employee's share under Employees Provident Fund (EPF), totaling 24% of the wage for the wage month from March to August, 2020 for the establishments having upto 100 employees with 90% of such employees earning less than Rs.15000/-. The unemployment benefit under  the  Atal  Beemit  Vyakti  Kalyan  Yojana  being  implemented  by  the  Employees' State  Insurance  Corporation  (ESIC)  has  been  enhanced  to  50%  from  25%  of  the average wage, payable upto 90 days, along with relaxation of eligibility  conditions  to claim the benefit.

In order to enhance the employability of female workers, the Government is providing training  to  them  through  a  network  of  women  Industrial  Training  institutes,  National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes. Government is implementing National Career Service (NCS) Project as a Mission Mode Project for transformation  of  the  National  Employment  Service  where  a  variety  of  employment related services like job search, job matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses etc. are being provided under the NCS Project on a common platform with efficient use of information technology. In order to promote women  empowerment,  NCS  provides  various  opportunities  and  features  specifically focused for women candidates to encourage skilling and employment amongst females.

Further,  on  26.08.2021,  the  Ministry  of  Labour  &  Employment  launched  e-SHRAM portal with an objective to create National Database of Unorganised Workers (NDUW) to facilitate delivery of Social Security Schemes/ Welfare Schemes of the Central /State Governments to the workers of informal/ unorganised sector.

(b)  &  (c):  Education  is  in  the  Concurrent  List  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools  come  under  the  purview  of  the  respective  State  Governments  and  UT Administrations.

The Government, in order to prevent drop outs and to check lower enrollments and loss of  learning,  has  issued  guidelines  on  13th  July,  2020  for  identification,  smooth admission process and continued education of migrant children.

Further, to ensure that children have access to education with quality and equity and to minimize  the  impact  of  the  pandemic  on  school  education  in  the  country,  the Government  has  shared  guidelines  dated  7th  January,  2021  with  all  States  &  UTs which,  among  others,  include  identification  of  out  of  school  children  from  age  6-18 years, enrollment drives and awareness generation, student support while schools are closed, continued education for Children with Special Needs (CWSN), student support on school reopening and capacity building of Teachers.

Also,  a comprehensive Covid  Action  Plan   has  been  shared  with  the  States  and  UTs on 4th May 2021, outlining the role of local bodies, formation of nodal group at village/ town level, conducting door-to-door/ helpdesk-based/ App-based survey to identify out of school children, their mainstreaming and resource sharing.

The Government has also developed an online module for compiling the data of Out of School Children (OoSC) identified by each State/ UT and their mapping with Special Training  Centres  (STC)  on  the  PRABANDH  Portal  (http://samagrashiksha.in).  The concerned  State/  UT  validates  the  child-wise  information  of  the  identified  OoSC  and STC uploaded by the concerned Block Resource Centre of the State for monitoring the progress of mainstreaming of OoSC.

Further,  during  the  pandemic,  the  Government  has  taken  various  steps  for  providing continued  access  to  education,  which  are  available  to  each  category  of  students irrespective of their region or economic standard. A comprehensive initiative called PM e-Vidya has been started which aims to unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes all forms of digital modes to provide wide access - DIKSHA (online), SWAYAM (online), SWAYAM PRABHA (TV), other TV Channels including use of Doordarshan and AIR Networks. Further, an Alternate Academic Calendar has been prepared for learning solutions for grade 1 to 12 for both children with and without device. Also, PRAGYATA guidelines were issued to States/UTs to facilitate continued education through various modes. The guidelines  inter-alia,  include  situation  where  internet  connectivity  is  not  available  or available with very less bandwidth, resources are shared through various platforms like television, radio etc. that do not depend on internet.

Also, to bridge the learning gaps and to ensure continuity of education, the Government has  shared  a  comprehensive  Learning  Recovery  Plan  with  all  the  states  and  Union Territories on 01.02.2022 describing the actions/ activities to be undertaken by all the stakeholders, indicative annual calendar of activities, existing interventions which can be utilized and additional support with funds as one time measure.

(d) & (e): The prevalence of anaemia has increased from 58.6 percent (NFHS 4) to 67.1 percent in children (6-59 months) as per the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). Under  Anaemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB)  strategy,  bi-weekly  dose  of  Iron  Folic  acid  (IFA) syrup is provided to under-five children. The ASHA at the village level is incentivized for the purpose of administration of IFA syrup to under-five children of her village.

Further,  intensified  year-round  behaviour  change  communication  campaign  (Solid Body, Smart Mind) has been outlined under AMB to induce behavioural change among people by addressing key behaviours like compliance to Iron Folic Acid supplements and  de-worming,  appropriate  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding  (IYCF)  and  increased intake of iron-rich, protein-rich and vitamin C-rich foods through dietary diversification and  food  fortification.  The  other  activities  for  behaviour  change  include  sensitization meetings  for  various  stake  holders  including  Village  Health  Sanitation  and  Nutrition Committee  (VHSNC).  A  comprehensive  communication  package  has  been  designed including  interpersonal  communication  aids  like  posters,  dialogue  cards,  job  aids anemia playing cards, badges etc. as well as messages for use in mass media.

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