Lok Sabha Question No. 1216 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Improvement in Economic and Political Empowerment of Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: P.R. Natarajan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1216

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2024

## IMPROVEMENT IN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN

## 1216. SHRI NATARAJAN P.R.:

Will the Minister of Women and Child Development be pleased to state :

- (a) the details of the initiatives taken by the Government to improve economic and political empowerment and the safety and security of women in the country;
- (b) whether  the  rural  women  have  suffered  more  from  economic  and  political divide and if so, the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to improve the political and financial condition of women in the country;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  work  on  time-use  survey  reports  to bridge the divide between men and women in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the Government has any plan to reduce the current domestic burden on  women  to  incentivize  them  to  increase  economic  participation  in  the country; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (e):  Gender justice is an important commitment of the Government as enshrined in the Constitution of India. In order to promote a gender just society and increased representation of women in various domains, several steps have been taken by the Government over the years to improve economic and political empowerment and the safety and security of women. These include enactment of criminal laws and special laws like 'the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005', 'the Dowry Prohibition  Act,  1961',  'the  Prohibition  of  Child  Marriage  Act,  2006';  'the  Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986'; 'the Sexual Harassment of Women (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013', 'the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956', 'the Commission of Sati Prevention Act, 1987', 'the Protection of Children from  Sexual  Offenses  Act,  2012',  'the  Juvenile  Justice  (Care  and  Protection  of Children) Act, 2015, etc.

Besides,  the  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment of women across the country. The Government has adopted multipronged approach to address the issue of women on a life-cycle continuum basis for their educational, social, economic and political empowerment so that they become equal partners in fast paced and sustainable national development.

In  the  past  few  years,  a  number  of  initiatives  have  been  taken  for  holistic development and empowerment of women in the country.

The  initiatives  like  Samagra  Shiksha,  Scholarship  schemes,  Babu  Jagjivan Ram Chhatrawas Yojna, Swachh Vidyalaya Mission, etc. ensure that schools are girlfriendly especially for vulnerable sections of society and have adequate facilities in place to fulfil their special requirements.

Department  of  Higher  Education,  Ministry  of  Education  is  administering 'National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology' (NMEICT) Scheme, SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds),  SWAYAM  PRABHA,  National  Digital  Library  (NDL),  Virtual  Lab,  e-Yantra, NEAT (National Education Alliance for Technology) etc. to ensure quality education through e-learning to students across the country. Under the Pradhan Mantri Vidya Lakshmi  Karyakram,  Vidya  Lakshmi  Portal  (VLP)  has  been  launched  by  the Government  to  ensure  that  students  avail  education  loans  easily  through  single window system of banks. All Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have been on-boarded on the Portal.

Multiple  initiatives  in  the  past  years  for  increasing  participation  of  women  in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have been undertaken. Vigyan Jyoti was launched in 2020 to balance low representation of girls in different streams  of  Science  and  Technology  from  9th  to  12th  standards.  The  Overseas Fellowship  Scheme  started  in  2017-18,  provides  opportunities  to  Indian  Women Scientist and Technologists to undertake international collaborative research in STEM. Several women scientists have played significant roles in India's maiden Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM),  or  Mangalyaan, including building and testing the scientific instruments at the Space Application Centre.

Pradhan  Mantri  Awaas  Yojana  -  Gramin  (PMAY-G)  Scheme  focuses  on woman ownership of houses and it has been decided that the allotment of house shall be made in the name of the woman or jointly in the name of the husband and wife, except in the case of a widower/ unmarried/ separated person/ transgender.

National Agriculture Market or e-NAM, an online trading platform for agricultural commodities is helping women overcome or compensate the barriers they face in accessing markets. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) is playing a significant role to uplift women cooperatives as large number of women are engaged and involved in cooperatives dealing with activities related to food grain processing, plantation  crops,  oilseeds  processing,  fisheries,  dairy  &  livestock,  spinning  mills, handloom and power loom weaving, Integrated Cooperative Development Projects, etc.

Construction of over 11.60 crore toilets under 'Swachh Bharat  Mission', clean cooking gas connections  to 10.14 crore women below poverty line under 'Ujjawala Yojana' and connecting over 14.21 crores out of 19.26 crores rural household with tap drinking water connections under 'Jal Jeevan Mission' have transformed the lives of women by reducing the drudgery and care burden.

Further, 'Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras' are established so as to reduce out of pocket expenses in healthcare. The objective is to bring down the healthcare budget of every citizen of India through providing Quality generic Medicines at Affordable Prices. Over 10,000 Kendras are functional across the country.

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. A number of enabling provisions have been incorporated in Labour Codes viz. the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Occupational Safety, Health and  Working  Conditions  Code,  2020  and  the  Code  on  Social  Security,  2020  for creating  congenial  work  environment  for  women  workers.  The  Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) mandates that at least one third of the jobs generated under the scheme (MGNREGS) should be given to women.

To ensure economic independence of women through skill development and vocational training, the Government has introduced Skill India Mission. The National Skill Development Policy focuses on inclusive skill development, with the objective of increased women participation for better economic productivity.

Government has also 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  on  local  need-based  training  to  accommodate  women;  and ensuring  safe  and  gender  sensitive  training  environment,  employment  of  women trainers, equity in remuneration, and complaint redressal mechanism.

The  Government  of  India  has  launched  the  'Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital Saksharta Abhiyan' (PMGDISHA) to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 Crore rural households (one person per household). The Scheme aims to bridge the digital divide, specifically targeting the rural population including marginalized sections of  society  like  SC/ST,  minorities,  persons  falling  below  poverty  line,  women  and differently abled.

Under  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission (DAY-NRLM), nearly 9.98 crore women are connected with around 90 lakh women's self-help  groups  that  are  transforming  rural  socio-economic  landscape  in  several innovative and socially and ecologically responsible ways, also availing governmental support including through collateral free loans.

India is promoting greater roles for girls in the armed forces. Government has also made enabling provisions for allowing women's participation in non-conventional sectors such as fighter pilots in Indian Air Force, Commandos, Central Police Forces, admissions in Sainik Schools, entry of Girls in NDA etc. The Government has taken multiple initiatives to increase female participation in the civil aviation sector with the creation of women aviation professionals through a special focus on young schoolgirls, especially from low-income families. Today, country has 10% more women pilots than the global average. Globally, according to the International Society of Women Airline Pilots, around 5 per cent of pilots are women. In India, the share of women pilots is significantly higher.

There are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Stand-Up India, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) have been launched for helping women set up their own enterprises. To economically empower women, 81% of loans of sizes from rupees ten lakh to rupees one crore under 'Stand-Up India' have been made available to women by the Government.

Under one of the largest financial inclusion programmes in the world, PM Jan Dhan Yojana has benefited more than 28 crore women, mostly in rural areas to open their  own  bank  accounts.  For  securing  the  future  of  the  girl  child,  the  government launched a savings scheme called 'Sukanya Samriddhi Account' etc.

With  special  attention  towards  entrepreneurship,  Government  of  India  has played a key role in the facilitation and disbursement of a large number of loans to small  women-led  enterprises  ensuring  that  women  become  a  vital  force  in  the country's burgeoning start-up ecosystem supported under the Start-up India.

In order to bring women in the mainstream of political leadership at the grass root  level,  Government  has  reserved  at  least  33%  of  the  seats  in  Panchayati  Raj Institutions (PRIs) for women through the 73 rd  amendment to the Constitution. Today, there are more than 14.50 lakh Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) in PRIs, which is approximately 46% of the total elected representatives. The Government is providing training to the EWRs from time to time to build on their capacity with a view to empowering women to participate effectively in the governance processes.

The  greatest  leap  forward  for  women  empowerment  and  representation  of women in  the  highest  political  offices  in  the  country  has  been  the  notification  by Government of the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023 (Constitution One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, 2023 on 28 September, 2023, for reservation of one-third of seats for women in the House of People (Lok Sabha) and in the State Legislative Assemblies including Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi.

The  Ministry  implements  the  Umbrella  Scheme  named  as  'Mission  Shakti' during the 15 th  Finance Commission period with effect from the financial year 202223, is aimed at strengthening interventions for women  safety, security and empowerment.  It  seeks  to  realise  the  Government's  commitment  for  'women-led development' by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and  by  making  them  equal  partners  in  nation-building  through  convergence  and citizen-ownership. It seeks to focus on proposing strategies for improving convergence across Ministries/ Departments and at different levels of governance. It also seeks to promote  greater  participation  and  support  of  Panchayats  and  other  local  level governance bodies, apart from strengthening digital infrastructure support, last mile tracking and Jan Sahabhagita. Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes -'Sambal' and 'Samarthya'.

In the 'Sambal' sub-scheme, which is for safety and security of women and has the components of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and a new component of Nari Adalat.

In the 'Samarthya' sub scheme, which is for empowerment of women and has the  components  of  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana  (PMMVY),  Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh (renamed as Shakti Sadan) and Working Women Hostel (renamed as Sakhi Niwas), National Creche Scheme (renamed as Palna) and a new component of Gap  Funding  for  Economic  Empowerment  i.e.  Hub  for  Empowerment  of  Women (HEW) with the aim to facilitate inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant  for  women  at  the  Central,  State/  UT  and  District  levels  for  creating  an environment in which women are able to realize their full potential. The support under the HEW provides for guiding, linking and hand holding women to various institutional and schematic set ups for their empowerment and development including access to healthcare,  quality  education,  career  and  vocational  counseling/  training,  financial inclusion,  entrepreneurship,  backward  and  forward  linkages,  health  and  safety  for workers, social security and digital literacy at districts/ Blocks/ Gram Panchayats level across the country.

The  Anganwadi  Services  under  Mission  Poshan  2.0  is  a  universal  scheme under  which  pregnant  women  and  lactating  mothers  are  eligible  for  the  services including the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP). For partial compensation of wages  and  for  promoting  health  seeking  behavior  among  pregnant  women  and lactating  mothers,  Government  has  implemented  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) which aims to promote appropriate practice, care and institutional service utilization  during  pregnancy,  delivery  and  lactation  by  providing  cash incentives in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode to pregnant and lactating mothers. Benefits have been extended to around 3.29 crore women through this scheme. Aslo, Palna, a sub-scheme is implemented in all States/ UTs to provide day care facilities and protection  to  children.  The  services  of  childcare  have  been  extended  through Anganwadi cum Crèche (AWCC) by way of converting all standalone creches into Anganwadi-cum-creches  (AWCCs)  to  enable  more  mothers  to  work  and  the  care givers to participate in the workforce.

In  2017,  the  Maternity  Benefit  Act  was  amended  to  increase  paid  maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for the first two children which provides for paid maternity leave to women workers and creche facility in establishments having fifty or more  employees  within  prescribed  distance.  Depending  upon  the  nature  of  work assigned to a woman, the Section 5(5) of the Act also provides for work from home for woman after availing of the maternity benefit for such period and on such conditions as the employer and the woman may mutually agree.

As per the Time Use Survey (TUS) (January - December 2019) conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, in both rural and urban India, about 80% females are involved in unpaid domestic services for household members devoting about 5 hours per day compared to about 20% males with about 1 hour and 30 minutes per day.

The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women inter-alia aims at changing societal attitudes and community practices by active participation and involvement of both men and women. It provides policy directions to ensure women's perspectives which are included in designing and implementing macro-economic and social policies by institutionalizing their participation in such processes. The policy aims to recognise women  as  producers  and  workers  in  the  formal  and  informal  sectors  (including homebased workers) and appropriate policies relating to employment and her working conditions are accordingly drawn up.

As per Periodic Labour Force Survey, conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the female labour force participation rate (usual status, age 15 years and above) has consistently increased from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 37.0% in 2022-23 as shown in the table below:

| Survey Period   |   Female Labour Force Participation Rate (%) (usual status, age 15 years and above) |
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2017-18         |                                                                                23.3 |
| 2018-19         |                                                                                24.5 |
| 2019-20         |                                                                                30   |
| 2020-21         |                                                                                32.5 |
| 2021-22         |                                                                                32.8 |
| 2022-23         |                                                                                37   |

This significant jump of 13.7% in the female labour force participation rate is an outcome  of  the  decisive  agenda  set  by  the  Government  for  ensuring  women's empowerment  through  policy  initiatives  aimed  at  their  long-term  socio-economic development to improve women's participation in the labour force and quality of their employment in the country.

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