Lok Sabha Question No. 280 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-21
Subject: Schemes for Empowerment of Rural Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 280

TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.07.2023

## SCHEMES FOR EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN

280.     SHRI ANNASAHEB SHANKAR JOLLE: SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR:

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched any new schemes to empower rural women through community participation;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the number of women benefitted and financial assistance provided under the scheme during the last five years, State/ UT-wise, particularly, Karnataka and Gujarat?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (c):   The  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment of women including rural women. 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.

Through the 73 rd  amendment to the Constitution of 1/3 rd  seats in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been reserved for women. However, 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.

Besides, in the past few years, a number of initiatives have been taken for holistic development  and  empowerment  of  women.  The  Government  of  India  implements various  schemes  /  programmes  for  welfare  of  women/  girls  in  which  community participation  plays  an  important  role.  Under  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission (NRLM), nearly 9.00 crore women are connected with around 83.5 lakh women's selfhelp  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. 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.

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. Other schemes include Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Samagra  Shiksha,  Babu  Jagjivan  Ram  Chhatrawas  Yojna,  Swacch  Vidyalaya Mission,  Swachchh  Bharat  Mission,  etc.  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. To ensure economic independence of women through skill development  and  vocational  training,  the  Government  has  also introduced Skill India Mission.

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 over 3.20 crore women through this scheme.

Construction  of  over  11.00  crore  toilets  under  'Swachchh  Bharat   Mission',  clean cooking  gas  connections   to  nearly  9.58  crore  women  below  poverty  line  under 'UjjawalaYojana' and connecting over 12.59 crores out of 19.46 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.  Prime Minister's Rural Digital  Literacy  Campaign  (Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital  Sakasharta  Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) that seeks to make 6 crore persons digitally literate, by covering one member  from  every  eligible  household.  Over  53%  of  the  beneficiaries  under PMGDISHA are women.

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  implements  'Mission  Shakti',  an Integrated Women Empowerment Programme, as Umbrella Scheme for the Safety, Security and Empowerment of Women. The 'Mission Shakti' has two sub-schemes namely "Sambal" for safety and security of women and "Samarthya" for empowerment of  women.  Under  'Samarthya'  sub-  scheme,  a  new  component  i.e.  Hub  for Empowerment of Women (HEW) has been included with the aim to facilitate intersectoral  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 including Karnataka and Gujarat.

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