Lok Sabha Question No. 172 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-06
Subject: Schemes for Rural Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Patel Umeshbhai Babubhai

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *172

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2024

## SCHEMES FOR RURAL WOMEN

- †*172.   SHRI PATEL UMESHBHAI BABUBHAI:

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

- (a) whether any new scheme is being implemented by the Government for the overall development of rural women;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the  details  of  the  budget  allocated  under  the  said  scheme  in  the  Union Territories of  Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu during the last seven years and the current year, district/year-wise;
- (d) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  provide  support  to  rural  women  by involving various organisations working in this direction or through any other scheme; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## 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 the reply to Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *172 for 06.12.2024  raised  by  Shri  Patel  Umeshbhai  Babubhai,  MP(LS)  regarding 'Schemes for Rural Women

(a)  to  (e):  The  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment  of  women  in  the  country  including  rural  women.  Government  has adopted  multi-pronged  approach  to  address  the  needs  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. This 'Women led development' is essential for realising the goal of a developed India, or 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047.

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

Under  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission (DAY-NRLM), nearly 10.05 crore rural households mobilized into 90.87 lakh SHGs that are transforming rural socio-economic landscape in country.

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.

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, with some exceptions, in the name of the woman or jointly in the name of the husband and wife.

Construction of over 11.60 crore toilets under 'Swachh Bharat Mission', clean cooking gas connections to 10.30 crore women below poverty line under 'Ujjawala Yojana' and connecting over 15.10 crores rural households with tap drinking water connections under 'Jal Jeevan Mission' have transformed the lives of women including women in rural areas.

To  ensure  economic  independence  of  women  through  skill  development  and vocational training, the  Government  has  also introduced Skill India Mission. 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

There are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Stand-Up India, Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) which have been launched for helping women set up their own enterprises. To economically empower women,

84% 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.

A number of enabling provisions for creating congenial work environment for women workers 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.

In 2017, the Maternity Benefit Act was amended to increase paid maternity leave from 12  weeks  to  26  weeks  for  the  first  two  children.  This  Act  also  provides  for  paid maternity leave to women workers and crèche facility within prescribed distance in all establishments having fifty or more employees

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 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 th  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 of Women and Child Development during the 15 th  Finance Commission period  with  effect  from  the  financial  year  2022-23,  is  implementing  Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country for the welfare of women and children, which are placed  under  three  verticals,  viz.  (1)  Mission  Shakti,  for  safety,  protection  and empowerment  of  women;  (2)  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  for  improving nutrition & health indicators in the country; and (3) Mission Vatsalya, for protection and welfare of children in difficult circumstances. The details of the schemes are as under:

(i) Mission  Shakti: The  'Mission  Shakti'  aims  at  strengthening  interventions  for women safety, security and empowerment. It seeks to focus on proposing strategies for improving convergence across Ministries/ Departments and at different levels of governance. Mission Shakti comprises of two verticals 'Sambal' and 'Samarthya' for safety and security of women and empowerment of women respectively.

The 'Sambal' vertical is for safety and security of women. It has the components of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat.

- a. One Stop Centres (OSCs)An institution located at district level offering under one  roof  immediate  help  to  women  in  distress  such  as  temporary  shelter, medical & police assistance, counselling and legal support.
- b. Women Helpline (WHL)The Women Helpline 181 provides toll-free 24-hours telecom service to women seeking support and information. It is also integrated with  Emergency  Response  Support  System  (ERSS)  112  for  all  emergency services and its integration with all One Stop Centres is in progress.
- c. Beti  Bachao  Beti  Padhao  (BBBP)BBBP  is  a  mindset  change  program helping in generating awareness for valuing the girl child through multi-sectoral interventions.
- d. Nari  AdalatAn experimental  platform  providing  women  with  an  alternative Grievance  Redressal  Mechanism  at  Gram  Panchayat  level  by  negotiation, mediation, and reconciliation with mutual consent for speedy, accessible, and affordable justice. It has been piloted in 50 Gram Panchayats each of Assam and UT of Jammu & Kashmir.

The 'Samarthya' vertical is for empowerment of women. It has the components of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Palna and SANKALP : Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW).

- a. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefits Scheme under which cash incentives of ₹5,000/is provided directly to the Bank/Post Office account of the beneficiary in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. Cash incentive of ₹6,000/- is also provided under PMMVY to eligible beneficiaries for second child being a girl child.
- b. Shakti SadanShakti Sadan is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home for the women in distress situations and difficult circumstances.
- c. Sakhi NiwasThe Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) is a demand driven centrally sponsored scheme, under which funds are released directly to the  States/UTs  and  aims  to  promote  availability  of  safe  and  conveniently located  accommodation  for  working  women  in  urban,  semi-urban  and  even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
- d. PalnaPalna  scheme  through  day-care  créche  facilities  provides  safe  and secure place for the children. Creche services formalise the child care facilities hitherto considered as part of domestic work and uses Aanganwadi infrastructure for ensuring delivery of care facilities till the last mile
- e. SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW)T he SANKALP: HEW serves as a vehicle to bridge the information and knowledge gap regarding schemes  and  facilities  available  for  women.  It  also  serves  as  a  Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) for all components under Mission Shakti.
6. (ii)  Saksham  Anganwadi  &  Poshan  2.0  (Mission  Poshan  2.0): Under  this programme,  Anganwadi  Services  Scheme,  POSHAN  Abhiyaan  and  Scheme  for

Adolescent Girls has been reorganized into 3 primary verticals: (i) Nutrition Support for  children  below  the  age  of  6  years,  Pregnant  Women,  Lactating  Mothers  and Adolescent Girls (14 -18 years); (ii) Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years] and (iii) Anganwadi Infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi.

(iii) Mission Vatsalya: Mission Vatsalya (erstwhile Child Protection Services Scheme (ICPS))  is  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  (CSS)  which  is  implemented  through States/Union Territories (UTs) to deliver services for better outreach and protection for Children in Need of Care and Protection (CNCP) and Children in Conflict with Law (CCL) which include Institutional Care and Non-Institutional Care in a mission mode with the objective to: (i) Support and sustain Children in difficult circumstances (ii) Develop  context-based  solutions  for  holistic  development  of  children  from  varied backgrounds (iii) Provide scope for green field projects for encouraging innovative solutions (iv) Cement convergent action by gap funding, if required.

The scheme also provides for emergency outreach services (24x7) for children in difficult circumstances through Child Helpline (1098).

These initiatives are transformative schemes designed to address critical social issues about women & children and bring about lasting social change in the country. They target key areas of welfare & development of women and children aiming to create a more inclusive, equitable, just and supportive society.

The year-wise details of funds allocated to the UT of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu under DAY-NRLM scheme is at Annexure .

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## Annexure

Annexure referred to in the reply to part (a) to (e) of the Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *172 for answer on 06.12.2024 regarding 'Schemes for Rural Women'

The year-wise details of funds allocated to the UT of Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu under DAY-NRLM scheme

| Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   | Funds allocated (Rs. In Crore)   |
|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2018-19                          | 2019-20                          | 2020-21                          | 2021-22                          | 2022-23                          | 2023-24                          | 2024-25                          |
| 20.00                            | 40.00                            | 60.00                            | 40.00                            | 60.02                            | 45.00                            | 55.00                            |

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