Lok Sabha Question No. 280 (STARRED), answered on 2024-08-09
Subject: Role of NGOs in Welfare of Women and Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Manish Jaiswal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*280

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2024

## ROLE OF NGOS IN WELFARE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

*280. SHRI MANISH JAISWAL :

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

- (a) the details of schemes being implemented for the empowerment of Women and development of Children through Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Jharkhand, district-wise including Hazaribagh;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  put  in  place  any  mechanism  to  monitor  the functioning of NGOs working in this region, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether it has been reported that some NGOs working in Jharkhand have misutilized the funds allocated to them to execute Centrally Sponsored Schemes;
- (d) if so, the details thereof and the instances reported in this regard during the last three years; and
- (e) the details of the measures taken/proposed to be taken to strengthen the role of  NGOs in promoting the welfare of women and children in rural and tribal areas of Jharkhand?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (A) TO (E) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.280 FOR ANSWER ON 09.08.2024 RAISED BY SHRI MANISH JAISWAL REGARDING ROLE OF NGOs IN WELFARE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

(a)  to  (e) :  The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  implements  various schemes  and  programmes  for  welfare  of  women  and  children  under  its  major Umbrella  schemes  namely  Mission  Shakti,  Mission  Saksham  Anganwadi  and Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0)  and  Mission  Vatsalya.  The  details  of  relevant schemes are as follows :

## Mission Shakti

Under  the  overarching  Mission  Shakti,  Swadhar  Greh  for  Women  in  difficult circumstances  and  Ujjawala  for  Prevention  of  Trafficking  have  been  merged  and known as Shakti Sadan which is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for women in distress situations including trafficked women.  It aims at creating a safe and enabling environment for the women in distress situations, to enable them to overcome the  difficult  circumstances.  The  Scheme  is  a  demand  driven  centrally  sponsored scheme,  under  which funds are released directly to the States/UTs for its implementation.

Further, the Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) under the overarching Mission Shakti, is a demand driven Centrally Sponsored Scheme, under which funds are released directly to the States/UTs for its implementation. The scheme aims to promote  availability  of  safe  and  conveniently  located  accommodation  for  working women in urban, semi-urban and also in rural areas where employment opportunity for women exists.

Under the  Scheme, financial assistance  is  provided  for  running  of  Sakhi  Niwas  in rented premises for working women and for those women who are under training for job. Provision of Day Care Centre for children of the residents of the Sakhi Niwas is an important aspect of the scheme.

The States/UTs assess their requirement as per local needs under Shakti Sadan and Sakhi Niwas and proposals are approved by the Programme Approval Board (PAB) after discussion with State/UTs.

## Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0):

Schemes for nutrition and health care and development of children are implemented through Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0).

Mission POSHAN 2.0 is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. The Poshan Abhiyaan, Anganwadi Services Scheme and the Scheme for Adolescent Girls have been  aligned  under  this  Mission.  Poshan  2.0  seeks  to  optimize  the  quality  and delivery  of  food  under  the  Supplementary  Nutrition  Program.  The  Scheme  is designed to address the issue of malnutrition through transparency, accountability, diet diversity and quality, food fortification, greater grassroots involvement and lastmile delivery of services supported by key strategies. Under Poshan 2.0, focus is also on leveraging traditional systems of knowledge and popularizing use of millets.

Under POSHAN Abhiyaan, for the first time, Anganwadi workers have been provided smart phones and Anganwadi Centres have been equipped with Growth Monitoring Devices to promote regular growth monitoring of children. Under the Abhiyaan, IT systems have been leveraged to strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems through the Poshan Tracker.

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  has  introduced  a  Centrally Sponsored  Scheme  namely,  'Palna'  for  all  States/UTs,  for  providing  day  care facilities and protection to children. Under Palna, Ministry has extended free services of  childcare  through  Anganwadi-cum-Crèche  (AWCC).  The  objective  of  Palna component is to provide quality creche facility in safe and secure environment for children (from ages 6 months - 6 years), nutritional support, health and cognitive development of children, growth monitoring, immunization and pre-primary education.

## Mission Vatsalya

Mission  Vatsalya  scheme  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  which  is implemented through States/Union Territories (UTs) to deliver services for Children in  Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) which include services of Institutional Care and Non-Institutional Care.  The fund sharing pattern is in the ratio of 60:40 for all States and UTs with legislature except the North-Eastern States and Hilly States - Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and UT  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir,  where  the  cost  of  sharing  is  90:10.  In  UTs  without legislature, the cost is 100% on the Central Government.

Under the Schemes of the Ministry, funds are released directly to the States/UTs.  Further funds are disbursed by the respective State/UT Governments to  the  implementing  agencies  which  are  involved  in  implementation  of  scheme components at State level and include the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also.  The  funds  are  released  through  the  Public  Financial  Management  System (PFMS) portal on completion of the requisite requirements such as submission of Utilization Certificate, Statement of Expenditure etc. Further, NGOs are mandated to comply, inter-alia , with the provisions of The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of  Children)  Act,  2015  and  Rules  thereunder  including  registration  under  Mission Vatsalya.

The  Ministry  issues  various  guidelines  and  advisories  from  time  to  time  for strengthening  implementation  of  schemes  under  the  Ministry  including  Mission Vatsalya by the States/UTs. The Ministry also regularly engages with the States/UTs with regards to Scheme implementation. The Ministry has held zonal conferences and sensitization/ dissemination workshops to promote and implement the scheme effectively.

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