Lok Sabha Question No. 4883 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-01
Subject: Schemes of Destitute Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4883

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2022

## SCHEME OF DESTITUTE WOMEN

## 4883.  SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL;

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

- (a) The number of women particularly, widows, divorcee and destitute women in the country, State/UT-wise;
- (b) The  details  of  the  schemes/programmes  being  run  for  welfare,  rehabilitation, empowerment, education and providing employment to such women;
- (c) The funds sanctioned, released and utilized by the State/UTs for purpose during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (d) The  number  of  women  benefitted  therefrom  during  the  said  period,  State/UTwise: and
- (e) The other measure being taken by the Government for empowerment of such women

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e) The number of widowed and divorced women in the country State/UT-wise as per Census 2011 is at Annexure-I. Census 2011 does not give data on destitute women in  the  country.  However, Ministry of Women and Children implements Swadhar Greh Scheme for destitute women as per which, number of destitute women staying in these Grehs is 8163 in 2021-22.

The  Government  is  implementing  several  schemes/programmes  being  run  for welfare,  rehabilitation,  empowerment,  education  and  providing  employment  to  such women which inter-alia include the following:

Swadhar Greh Scheme: The Scheme caters to primary needs of women in difficult circumstances  -  women  and  girls  rendered  homeless  due  to  family  discord,  crime, violence, mental stress, social ostracism or are being forced into prostitution and are in moral danger. The scheme through the provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counseling, training, clinical and legal aid aims to rehabilitate such women in difficult circumstance economically  and  emotionally.  Under  Swadhar  Greh  Scheme  vocational  and  skill upgradation training is provided for economic rehabilitation of women.

Home for Widows: A Home for widows has been set up in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh with  a  capacity  of  1,000  inmates  to  provide  widows  a  safe  and  secure  place  of  stay, health services, nutritious food, legal and counselling services.

One Stop Centres (OSCs), popularly known as Sakhi Centres, aim to facilitate women affected by violence (including domestic violence) with a range of integrated services under one roof such as Police facilitation, medical aid, legal aid and legal counselling, psycho-social counselling, temporary shelter, etc.

Women Helpline (WHL) Scheme provides 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence, both in public and private spaces by linking them  with  appropriate  authority  such  as  Police,  One  Stop  Centre,  Hospital,  Legal Services, etc. WHL also supports women in distress with rescue van and counselling services  in  addition  to  providing  information  about  women  welfare  schemes  and programs across the country. Women can dial 181 short code to avail services from Women Helpline.

The Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme: The Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme of Ministry of Women  and  Child  Development  aims  to  empower  rural  women  through  community participation and to create an environment in which they realize their full potential.

Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme : Under this scheme, widow pension is provided to the widows belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. This is a sub-scheme under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) of Ministry of Rural Development. Under the scheme, central assistance @ Rs. 300/- per month is provided to widows in the age group of 40-79 years and the pension amount is enhanced to Rs 500/- per month on attaining 80 years.

The National  Social  Assistance  Programme  (NSAP) is  a  fully  funded  Centrally Sponsored Scheme targeting the destitute to be identified by the States and UTs with the  objective  of  providing  a  basic  level  of  financial  support.  Under  NSAP,  central assistance of Rs. 200 - 300/- is provided in pension to senior citizens (60 years and above), widows (40-79 years) and for disabled persons.

In  alignment  with  the  goals  under  Nation  Health  Policy  (NHP)  2017, the  Government announced  the  ambitious  and  holistic Ayushman  Bharat  Programme with  its  twin pillars  of  Health  and  Wellness  Centres  and  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Jan  Arogya  Yojana (PMJAY) in September 2018. Under Jan Aarogya Yojana, coverage is provided to poor and vulnerable families. This is likely to help improve women's access to health care services.

Government of India launched the Stand Up India scheme on 5 th April 2016 to promote entrepreneurship amongst  women, SC and ST categories, i.e.,  those  sections of  the population understood to be facing significant hurdles due to lack of advice/ mentorship as well as inadequate and delayed credit. The Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 1 crore to at least one scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch of Scheduled Commercial Banks for setting up Greenfield enterprises in trading, manufacturing and services sector.

Government  has  set  up  the Pradhan Mantri  Kaushal  Kendras under  the  Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana across the country. Emphasis has been laid on creating additional infrastructure both for training and apprenticeship for women, flexible training delivery  mechanisms  such  as  mobile  training  units,  flexible  afternoon  batches  along with local need-based training to accommodate women and ensuring safe and gender sensitive training environment of women trainers, equity in remuneration and complaint redressal mechanism.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) seeks to ensure employment in rural households, mandating that at least one third of the jobs generated should be given to women. The MGNREGA Guidelines have also made special provisions to encourage the participation of women, including giving preference to women (especially single women) and older persons for work on worksites nearer to their residences, child care facilities at the worksite in case more than five children under 6 years of age are present, adequate representation of women in  the  MGNREGS staff, ensuring that widows, deserted women and destitute women are  provided  100  days  of  work,  awareness  and  outreach  activities  to  ensure  that  all wage seekers (including women) are able to handle bank procedures, treating pregnant and lactating mothers as a special category and provision of suitable work for them etc.

Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) has been launched to ensure old age  protection  for  Unorganised  Workers  who  are  not  covered  by  any  other  pension scheme. The unorganised workers including women, mostly engaged as home based workers,  street  vendors,  mid-day  meal  workers,  head  loaders,  brick  kiln  workers, cobblers,  rag  pickers,  domestic  workers,  washer  men,  rickshaw  pullers,  landless labourers, agricultural workers, construction workers, beedi workers, handloom workers,  leather  workers,  audio-visual  workers  and  similar  other  occupation  whose monthly income is Rs 15,000/ per month or less and belong to the entry age group of 18-40 years.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMVY) has been initiated by Government, inter alia, for facilitation  self-employment. Under PMMVY, collateral free loans upto Rs. 10 lakh are extended to micro/small business enterprises and to individuals to enable them to setup or expand their business activities . Majority of the beneficiaries under this yojna are women.

Prime Minister Awaas Yojana (PMAY-G): This scheme aims to provide 'Housing for All' through provision of pucca house with basic amenities to all houseless households and households living in kutcha and dilapidated house in rural areas by 2022. This will also benefit the neglected, abandoned and destitute widows.

Pradhan  Mantri  Awaas  Yojana  (PMAY-U): This  is  a  Scheme  with  a  vision  for facilitating Housing for All by 2022 started from 17.06.2015. Under this scheme, central assistance is provided to States/UTs in addressing the housing requirement of Economically  Weaker  Sections  (EWS)  including  slum  dwellers  in  the  urban  areas. However, under Credit linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) component of the Mission, LIG, MIG I & MIG II segments are also covered.

Deendayal Antyodaya YojanaNational Urban Livelihood Mission (DAYNULM): DAY-NULM  is  implemented  in  statutory  towns  to  reduce  poverty  and vulnerability  of  urban  poor  households,  for  improvement  in  their  livelihoods  on  a sustainable basis. The mission provides for broadening of coverage to include families of  disadvantaged  groups  like  SCs,  STs, Women, Minorities,  disabled  etc.  subject  to maximum of 25 percent of the above urban poor population.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY): This scheme is implemented with an objective to create a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under privileged and  workers  in  the  unorganized  sector.  The  scheme  is  open  to  all  citizens  of  India between 18-40 years of age having a saving bank account in a bank or post office.

Integrated Programme for Older Persons : The objective of the Scheme is to improve the quality of life of the Senior Citizens, including women, by providing basic amenities like  shelter,  food,  medical  care  and  entertainment  opportunities  and  by  encouraging productive and active ageing through providing support for capacity building of State/ UT Governments/Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)/ local bodies and the community at large.

Scheme for Development of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs): There are certain  groups  among  Scheduled  Tribes  which  have  declining  or  stagnant population, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward. These groups are among the most vulnerable sections of our society as they are few in numbers, have not attained any significant level of social and economic development and generally inhabit remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support. 75 such groups in 18 States and one UT have been identified  and  categorized  as  Particularly  Vulnerable  Tribal  Groups  (PVTGs).  In 1998-99, a separate 100% Centrally Sponsored for exclusive development of PVTGs was started. Based on the knowledge and experiences gathered in implementation of the scheme, it has been revised with effect from 17.09.2019 to make it more effective National  Family  Benefit  Scheme  (NFBS): The  ministry  of  Rural  Development Implements National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) under which monetary grant of Rs. 20,000  is  given  as  lump  sum  assistance  to  the  bereaved  household  in  the  event  of death of the bread-winner. Annapurna Scheme: Under Annapurna Scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development, ten  kg  of  food  grain  is  given  to  those  eligible  aged  persons  who  have  remained uncovered under the Indira Ghandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS). The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment implements  Nari  Arthik  Sashaktikaran  Yojana  to  support  Scheduled  Castes,  Single

Nari Arthik Sashaktikaran Yojana: Women/Widows to take up income generating activities.

Assistance  for  vocational  training  of  widows  of  ex-servicemen: The  Ministry  of Defense  provides financial assistance for vocational training of widows  of exservicemen, treatment of serious diseases of non-pensioner ex-servicemen/widows and daughter's marriage/widows' remarriage.

Details of the funds sanctioned, released and utilized by the State/UTs during each of the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  under   Swadhar  Greh  Scheme  are  at Annexure-II.

The number of women benefitted under Swadhar Greh Scheme during last three years

State/UT-wise is at Annexure-III.

****

Annexure referred to in reply of parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4883 for 01.04.2022 regarding Schemes of Destitute Women.

## Number of Widowed and Divorced Women in the Country

| Female of all ages                     | Female of all ages   | Female of all ages   |
|----------------------------------------|----------------------|----------------------|
|                                        | Widowed              | Divorced             |
| INDIA                                  | 43261478             | 909573               |
| State - JAMMU & KASHMIR (01)           | 283650               | 11081                |
| State - HIMACHAL PRADESH (02)          | 293475               | 4549                 |
| State - PUNJAB (03)                    | 928158               | 18471                |
| State - CHANDIGARH (04)                | 24496                | 863                  |
| State - UTTARAKHAND (05)               | 387215               | 3922                 |
| State - HARYANA (06)                   | 773297               | 7720                 |
| State - NCT OF DELHI (07)              | 456613               | 10805                |
| State - RAJASTHAN (08)                 | 1983634              | 23758                |
| State - UTTAR PRADESH (09)             | 4856188              | 56819                |
| State - BIHAR (10)                     | 2238793              | 14760                |
| State - SIKKIM (11)                    | 13717                | 676                  |
| State - ARUNACHAL PRADESH (12)         | 31787                | 1189                 |
| State - NAGALAND (13)                  | 39496                | 4150                 |
| State - MANIPUR (14)                   | 77990                | 4483                 |
| State - MIZORAM (15)                   | 28569                | 11068                |
| State - TRIPURA (16)                   | 164969               | 6308                 |
| State - MEGHALAYA (17)                 | 84825                | 7017                 |
| State - ASSAM (18)                     | 1156042              | 45722                |
| State - WEST BENGAL (19)               | 3792184              | 125744               |
| State - JHARKHAND (20)                 | 1027878              | 12672                |
| State - ODISHA (21)                    | 1612627              | 29845                |
| State - CHHATTISGARH (22)              | 973787               | 30871                |
| State - MADHYA PRADESH (23)            | 2160609              | 44272                |
| State - GUJARAT (24)                   | 2015742              | 88753                |
| State - DAMAN & DIU (25)               | 6816                 | 249                  |
| State - DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI (26)      | 7378                 | 348                  |
| State - MAHARASHTRA (27)               | 4520764              | 154274               |
| State - ANDHRA PRADESH (28)            | 4297481              | 66691                |
| State - KARNATAKA (29)                 | 2989429              | 27959                |
| State - GOA (30)                       | 77935                | 858                  |
| State - LAKSHADWEEP (31)               | 2448                 | 296                  |
| State - KERALA (32)                    | 2010984              | 46856                |
| State - TAMIL NADU (33)                | 3856398              | 45185                |
| State - PUDUCHERRY (34)                | 73579                | 1060                 |
| State - ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS (35) | 12525                | 279                  |

Annexure-II Annexure referred to in reply of parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question

No. 4883 for 01.04.2022 regarding Schemes of Destitute Women.

Details  of  the  funds  sanctioned,  released  and  utilized  by  the  State/UTs  under Swadhar Greh Scheme during each of the last three years and the current year

## (Rupees in Lakhs)

|   S. No. | States /UTs                 |   Amount Sa nctioned/R eleased du ring year 2 018-19 | Amou nt Utilize d During year 2 018-1 9   |   Amount Sa nctioned/R eleased du ring year 2 019-20 | Amou nt Utilize d during 2019- 20   |   Amount Sa nctioned/R eleased du ring year 2 020-21 | Amou nt Utilize d during 2020- 21   | Amount Sanction ed/Relea sed durin g year 20 21-22   |
|----------|-----------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Andhr a Pra desh            |                                                 0    | 0                                         |                                               190.93 | 0                                   |                                                 0    | 0                                   | **                                                   |
|        2 | Assa m                      |                                               152.6  | 152.6 0                                   |                                               143.51 | 143.5 1                             |                                                 0    | 0                                   | **                                                   |
|        3 | Anda man & Nicob ar Isla nd |                                                 7.27 | 7.27                                      |                                                 7.27 | 7.24                                |                                                 3.96 | 3.95                                | 7.26                                                 |
|        4 | Aruna chal P rades h        |                                                18.05 | 18.05                                     |                                                 9.69 | 9.69                                |                                                10.48 | **                                  | **                                                   |
|        5 | Chan digarh                 |                                                 6.64 | 7.99*                                     |                                                 7.99 | 7.99                                |                                                 8.45 | 8.45                                | **                                                   |
|        6 | Chhat tisgar h              |                                                30.25 | 30.25                                     |                                                22.95 | 21.35                               |                                                22.89 | 22.89                               | 20.75                                                |
|        7 | Delhi                       |                                                16.1  | 9.5                                       |                                                18.38 | 17.72                               |                                                13.1  | **                                  | **                                                   |
|        8 | Gujar at                    |                                                 0    | 0                                         |                                                18.31 | 0                                   |                                                15.26 | **                                  | **                                                   |
|        9 | Harya na                    |                                                 3.39 | 3.39                                      |                                                 0    | 0                                   |                                                 0    | 0                                   | **                                                   |
|       10 | Himac hal Pr adesh          |                                                 0    | 0                                         |                                                 5.45 | 3.05                                |                                                 3.35 | 6.53*                               | 9.13                                                 |
|       11 | Jhark hand                  |                                                 0    | 0                                         |                                                18.17 | 7.88                                |                                                 0    | 0                                   | **                                                   |
|       12 | Jamm u & K ashmi r          |                                                36.2  | 36.20                                     |                                                38.87 | 38.86                               |                                                27.76 | 27.76                               | 25.64                                                |

|   13. | Karna taka       |   274.35 | 274.3 5   |   221.67 | 201.5 3   |   301.31 | 272.8 4   | **     |
|-------|------------------|----------|-----------|----------|-----------|----------|-----------|--------|
|    14 | Kerala           |    69.59 | 0         |    32.26 | 0         |    71.11 | **        | **     |
|    15 | Madh ya Pra desh |    46.09 | 47.55 *   |   162.05 | 144.5 2   |    53.01 | 72.97 *   | 74.35  |
|    16 | Mahar ashtra     |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    17 | Mizor am         |    81.09 | 49.55     |    71.97 | 69.23     |     0    | 0         | 1.71*  |
|    18 | Manip ur         |   424.3  | 424.3 0   |   267.08 | 267.0 8   |   313.74 | **        | **     |
|    19 | Megh alaya       |     0    | 0         |     0    | 8.58      |    36.36 | **        |        |
|    20 | Nagal and        |    25.69 | 25.69     |    13.08 | 13.08     |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    21 | Odish a          |   456.79 | 531.9 7*  |   286.73 | 240.4 7*  |   642.96 | 642.4 0   | 5.10*  |
|    22 | Punja b          |     8    | 0         |     9.58 | 0         |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    23 | Puduc herry      |    20.06 | 20.06     |     7.99 | 7.99      |    21.17 | 21.17     | 10.80  |
|    24 | Rajast han       |     0    | 0         |    87.19 | 0         |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    25 | Sikki m          |     6.72 | 6.72      |    10.64 | 10.47     |    10.47 | 10.47     | 10.65  |
|    26 | Tamil Nadu       |   409.75 | 405.22    |   160.12 | 155.69    |   432.35 | **        | **     |
|    27 | Telan gana       |   116.09 | 116.09    |   299.16 | 219.16    |   205.26 | **        | **     |
|    28 | Tripur a         |    46.23 | 43.24     |    26.17 | 21.36     |    84.6  | 80.92     | 49.28  |
|    29 | Uttar Prade sh   |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    30 | Uttara khand     |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         | **     |
|    31 | West Benga l     |     0    | 0         |     0    | 0         |   155.67 | 127.14    | 218.85 |

* including previous year's unspent balance.

** Documents not received.

Annexure-III

Annexure referred to in reply of parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 4883 for 01.04.2022 regarding Schemes of Destitute Women.

Details of the number of women benefited under Swadhar Greh Scheme during each of the last three years and the current year State/UT-wise

| S.No State Name            |   Beneficiaries 2018-19 | Beneficiaries 2019-20   |   Beneficiaries 2020-21 |   Beneficiaries 2021-22 |
|----------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|-------------------------|
| 1Andhra Pradesh            |                     780 | 901                     |                     433 |                     438 |
| 2Arunachal Pradesh         |                      30 | 16                      |                      22 |                      22 |
| 3Assam                     |                     510 | 510                     |                     242 |                     242 |
| 4 Andaman and Nicobar (UT) |                       0 | 8                       |                       9 |                       9 |
| 5Bihar                     |                       0 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 6Chandigarh                |                      30 | 17                      |                       8 |                      11 |
| 7Chhattisgarh              |                      90 | 84                      |                      46 |                      52 |
| 8Dadra & Nagar Haveli      |                       0 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 9Daman & Diu               |                       0 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 10Delhi                    |                      60 | 33                      |                      41 |                      41 |
| 11Goa                      |                       0 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 12Gujarat                  |                     120 | 120                     |                     117 |                     117 |
| 13Haryana                  |                      30 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 14Himachal Pradesh         |                       1 | -                       |                       9 |                       9 |
| 15Jammu & Kashmir          |                      90 | 160                     |                      27 |                      27 |
| 16Jharkhand                |                      90 | 14                      |                      18 |                      18 |
| 17Karnataka                |                    1380 | 1383                    |                    1462 |                    1445 |
| 18Kerala                   |                     210 | 473                     |                     165 |                     165 |
| 19Lakshadweep              |                       0 | 0                       |                       0 |                       0 |
| 20Madhya Pradesh           |                     240 | 240                     |                     273 |                     273 |
| 21Maharashtra              |                    1500 | 1500                    |                     126 |                     126 |

<!-- image -->

| 22Manipur       |   690 |   664 | 431   |   431 |
|-----------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
| 23Mizoram       |   330 |   112 | 90    |    88 |
| 24Meghalaya     |    60 |    60 | 15    |    15 |
| 25Nagaland      |    60 |    60 | 34    |    34 |
| 26Odisha        |  2340 |  2340 | 1667  |  1667 |
| 27Punjab        |    60 |    30 | 34    |    34 |
| 28Puducherry    |    30 |    30 | 10    |    10 |
| 29Rajasthan     |   180 |   180 | 203   |   203 |
| 30Sikkim        |    30 |    22 | 18    |    18 |
| 31Tamil Nadu    |  1050 |  1050 | 864   |   864 |
| 32Telangana     |   570 |   831 | 389   |   389 |
| 33Tripura       |   120 |   120 | 64    |    64 |
| 34Uttar Pradesh |   390 |   390 | 344   |   342 |
| 35Uttrakhand    |   120 |   120 | -     |     0 |
| 36West Bengal   |  1440 |  1440 | 806   |   802 |

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