Lok Sabha Question No. 2060 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-02
Subject: Special Scheme for Women Weavers
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Ummeda Ram Beniwal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2060

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.08.2024

## SPECIAL SCHEME FOR WOMEN WEAVERS

2060.     SHRI UMMEDA RAM BENIWAL:

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

- (a)  the details of the schemes being implemented by the Government for upliftment of women in the country particularly in Rajasthan, scheme-wise;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  proposes  to  implement  any  special  scheme  for  the women  weavers  of  Barmer-Jaisalmer  Parliamentary  Constituency  situated  at lndo-Pak border so as to provide more employment to the women of the said geographically vast area;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the time by which is likely to be done; and
- (d)  if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

- (a) The details of the schemes implemented by the Central Government for upliftment of women across the country including the State of Rajasthan are as follows:

The  Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  &  Medium  Enterprises  (MSME)  implements  various schemes that address the need for credit, technology, market development, capacity building  etc.  of  the  MSMEs.  Women  entrepreneurs  are  encouraged  to  avail  the benefits of these schemes through various fora. A few of the schemes having greater focus on women are detailed below:

Samarth Initiative: In March 2022, the Ministry announced 'Samarth Initiative' under which, every year, the following will be aimed:

- i. 20% seats in free Skill Development Programs organized under various skill development schemes of the Ministry allocated for women.
- ii. 20% of  business  delegations  sent  to  domestic  and  international  exhibitions under the schemes for Marketing Assistance implemented by the Ministry is dedicated to women-owned MSMEs;
- iii. Ministry provides 20%  discount on annual processing fee on NSIC's commercial schemes;
- iv. Special Drive for registration  of  women-owned  MSMEs  under  Udyam Registration. The Ministry has successfully achieved the targets in FY 22-23 and FY 23-24.

Public Procurement  Policy: The Government  of India, through the Public Procurement  Policy,  has  mandated  that  all  Central  Ministries/  Departments/Public Sector Enterprises will procure at least 3% of their annual procurement from womenowned Micro and Small Enterprises. The current procurement from women owned MSEs stands at 1.26 percent (from nearly 15,000 women entrepreneurs).

Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme: This flagship programme is  a  credit-linked subsidy programme for aspiring micro entrepreneurs to start their own enterprises in rural and urban areas. Women applicants are provided a higher subsidy  than  the  general  applicants.  General  category  beneficiaries  can  avail  of margin money subsidy of 25 % of the project cost in rural areas and 15% in urban areas. For beneficiaries belonging to special categories such as scheduled caste/scheduled tribe / women the margin money subsidy is 35% in rural areas and 25% in urban areas. Aspiring women entrepreneurs have been increasingly benefiting from this programme. During the last eight years more than 1.83 lakh women availed assistance under this scheme and turned micro entrepreneurs.

Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises: The Credit Guarantee Fund  Scheme  for  Micro  and  Small  Enterprises  (CGMSE)  was  launched  by  the Government of India to make available collateral-free credit to the micro and small enterprises for loans up to a limit of Rs. 500 lakh (w.e.f. 01.04.2023) to MSEs with a guarantee coverage up to 85% for loans to women, as against the normal rate of 75%. Both the existing and the new enterprises are eligible to be covered under the scheme.

ZED Certification: Under MSME Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme of Ministry of MSME, all Women owned manufacturing MSMEs registered in Udyam Portal are eligible  for  100%  (free)  subsidy  on  cost  of  ZED certification  w.e.f. 11th  November, 2023.

Mahila  Coir  Yojana  (MCY): Mahila  Coir  Yojana  is  a  sub-component  of  the  Coir VikasYojana.  MCY  is  a  100%  women  oriented  and  intensive  two-month  training programme which aims to provide training to rural women engaged in the coir sector, on  sophisticated  machinery/  advanced  technology  in  order  to  upscale  their  living standards and thereby attain self-sustainable employment. Under this programme, the women beneficiaries are given skill training in coir spinning. They are provided stipend during the training. The trainees are encouraged to apply for a loan under the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) thereafter, for starting their own  micro  coir  enterprises.  During  the  last  five  years,  more  than  11,000  women artisans engaged in the coir industry were trained.

Capacity  building through  training  programmes  in  the  areas  of  entrepreneurship development, management development, market development, skill development, etc are  provided  through  the  Entrepreneurship  and  Skill  Development  programmes. During the last three years, around 3 lakh women were provided trainings through Khadi  and  Village  Industries  Commission  (KVIC)  training  centres,  Tool  Rooms, Technology/ Extension centres situated across the country.

Under  the  SFURTI  scheme,  80  clusters  with  women  majority  (i.e.  with  over  50% representation) have been approved since July 2019.

All the schemes implemented by the Ministry, like the Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), Lean

Manufacturing Competitiveness Scheme, Zero Defect and Zero Effect (ZED), Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme for Technology Upgradation, MSE-Cluster Development etc. also provide financial and technical support to MSMEs, including women-owned MSMEs. Details of these schemes are available at https://www.msme.gov.in.

One  of  the  most  successful  schemes  of  the  Central  Government  is  Deendayal Antyodaya  Yojna  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAY-NRLM),  under  which approximately 90 lakhs women self-help groups having nearly 10 crore members are changing the rural landscape for employment/ self-employment.  Similarly, National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) is for urban areas. Besides, there are schemes like  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojana  (PMMY),Stand-up  India,  Start-up  India, Pradhan Mantri Street Vendors AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), for providing employment/ self-employment and credit facilities. Majority of the beneficiaries under these schemes are women. The Central Government also provides skill and vocational training  to  the  women  under  the  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojna  (PMKVY). Similarly, the Government implements the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan  (PMGDISHA)  to  provide  digital  literacy  to  rural  populations.  These  two schemes have also helped women and girls gaining necessary skills required for jobs and entrepreneurship.

(b  to  d):  Women  play  a  vital  role  in  the  handloom  sector.  The  Ministry  of  Textiles administers  the  following  schemes  to  promote  handloom  sector  and  upliftment  of handloom weavers including women weavers across the country:

- (i) National Handloom Development Programme;
- (ii) Raw Material Support Scheme;

Under  the  above  schemes,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  eligible  handloom agencies/ workers for raw materials, procurement of upgraded looms & accessories, solar  lighting  units,  construction  of  work  shed,  product  &  design  development, technical and common infrastructure, marketing of handloom products in domestic/ overseas markets, concessional loans under weavers' MUDRA scheme and social security etc. Further, the Ministry of Textiles provides additional incentives to them to sustain and augment their handloom business. Some of the benefits provided to the weavers across the country are:

- i. 100%  subsidy  to  BPL/  SC/  ST/  Women/  Transgender/  Differently-abled weavers for construction of work sheds under National Handloom Development Programme.
- ii. Since 2016, Kamladevi Chattopadhyay Award has been instituted specifically for  women  weavers  recognizing  extraordinary  skills  and  their  contribution thereof.

*****