Lok Sabha Question No. 1420 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-10
Subject: Schemes for Destitute Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sunil Dattatray Tatkare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1420

TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.02.2023

## SCHEMES FOR DESTITUTE WOMEN

## 1420.  SHRI SUNIL DATTATRAY TATKARE:

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

- (a) the number of women particularly, widows, divorcee and destitute in the country especially Maharashtra;
- (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 Maharashtra State for the purpose during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (d) the number of beneficiaries therefrom during the said period from the State of Maharashtra;
- (e) whether the Government has made any assessment of the success achieved through implementation of these schemes and if so, the details thereof; and
- (f) whether the Government proposes to launch a special welfare and rehabilitation scheme for the widows living in different parts of the country and if so, the details thereof

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) As informed by the State Government of Maharashtra, there is no provision of maintaining record particularly on widows, divorcee and destitute in the State. Also, there is no single scheme on individual benefit of widows, divorcee and destitute in Maharashtra. However, State Department of Women and Child Development has the following schemes for all the needy women namely Shakti Sadan, One Stop Centres, Women  Helpline,  Mahila  Shakti  Kendra,  Manodhairya  scheme,  Mahila  Protection Homes, Support Homes, Women Counseling Centre, Domestic Violence Act, 2005, Work Place Harassment 2013

As  per  Census  2011,  the  number  of  widowed  and  divorced  women  in  the country State/UT wise, including Maharashtra, is at Annexure I. The Government is implementing  various  schemes  and  programmes  for  empowerment  of  women including destitute women, which are as follows:

Shakti Sadan : Under the newly approved Mission Shakti, SwadharGreh for women in difficult circumstances and Ujjawala Homes for Prevention of Trafficking have been merged and renamed as Shakti Sadan which is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home. This is aimed at creating a safe and enabling environment for the women in distress  situations  and  difficult  circumstances.   So  far  10,955  number  of  women benefitted under the Scheme.

Home for Widows has been set up in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh with a capacity of 1,000 residents to provide 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.

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.

Ayushman Bharat Programme with its twin pillars of Health and Wellness Centres and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY),provides coverage to poor and vulnerable families and this wouldalso help improve women's access to health care services.

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 (PMMY) has been initiated by Government, inter alia, for facilitation self-employment. Under PMMY, 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 which include 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 house less households and households living in kutcha and dilapidated house in rural areas.This will also benefit the neglected, abandoned and destitute widows.

Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY-U): Under this scheme, central assistance is provided  to  States/UTs  for  addressing the  housing  requirement  of  economically Weaker Sections (EWS) including slum dwellers in the urban areas.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY): This scheme is implemented with an objective to create a universal social security system for all, especially the poor, 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.

(c) & (d) As informed by the State Government of Maharashtra, there is no special provision / individual benefit Scheme for widow, divorcee and destitute in Maharashtra State.

(e)  &  (f)  The  Schemes  of  the  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  are implemented  through  State  Governments/UT  Administrations.  Under  the  three Missions implemented by the Ministry namely, 'Mission Poshan' 2.0, 'Mission Shakti' and 'Mission Vatasalya', appropriate monitoring mechanism is available at all levels of implementation i.e., at National, State and District levels. The Ministry continuously monitors  the  progress  of  the  implementation  of  all  schemes  through  physical  and virtual meetings with States/UTs, field visit by the officials of the Ministry and through digital  mode  and  takes  appropriate measures and issues advisories to States/UTs from time to time.

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Annexure-I

Annexure referred to in reply of parts (a) & (b) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1420 for 10.02.2023 regarding Schemes for 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             |
| ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS | 12525                | 279                  |
| ANDHRA PRADESH            | 4297481              | 66691                |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH         | 31787                | 1189                 |
| ASSAM                     | 1156042              | 45722                |
| BIHAR                     | 2238793              | 14760                |
| CHANDIGARH                | 24496                | 863                  |
| CHHATTISGARH              | 973787               | 30871                |
| DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI      | 7378                 | 348                  |
| DAMAN & DIU               | 6816                 | 249                  |
| GOA                       | 77935                | 858                  |
| GUJARAT                   | 2015742              | 88753                |
| HARYANA                   | 773297               | 7720                 |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH          | 293475               | 4549                 |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR           | 283650               | 11081                |
| JHARKHAND                 | 1027878              | 12672                |
| KARNATAKA                 | 2989429              | 27959                |
| KERALA                    | 2010984              | 46856                |
| LAKSHADWEEP               | 2448                 | 296                  |
| MADHYA PRADESH            | 2160609              | 44272                |
| MAHARASHTRA               | 4520764              | 154274               |
| MANIPUR                   | 77990                | 4483                 |
| MEGHALAYA                 | 84825                | 7017                 |
| MIZORAM                   | 28569                | 11068                |
| NAGALAND                  | 39496                | 4150                 |
| NCT OF DELHI              | 456613               | 10805                |
| ODISHA                    | 1612627              | 29845                |
| PUDUCHERRY                | 73579                | 1060                 |
| PUNJAB                    | 928158               | 18471                |
| RAJASTHAN                 | 1983634              | 23758                |
| SIKKIM                    | 13717                | 676                  |
| TAMIL NADU                | 3856398              | 45185                |
| TRIPURA                   | 164969               | 6308                 |
| UTTAR PRADESH             | 4856188              | 56819                |
| UTTARAKHAND               | 387215               | 3922                 |
| WEST BENGAL               | 3792184              | 125744               |
| TOTAL                     | 43261478             | 909573               |

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