Lok Sabha Question No. 808 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-02-07
Subject: Special Schemes for Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 808

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2025

## SPECIAL SCHEMES FOR WOMEN

## †808. SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT:

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched any special programmes or schemes to  address  the  challenges  faced  by  women  in  Uttarakhand  such  as  low participation in health-related decisions and high prevalence of anaemia;
- (b) if so, the details of the achievements of the said initiatives; and
- (c) the details of the future plans of the Government to empower women and adolescent girls in the State?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR )

(a) to (c) :  The Government gives utmost priority to the safety, security and empowerment of women in the country including the State of Uttarakhand. To this end, the Government has adopted multi-pronged approach to address the welfare 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.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country, for the welfare of women and children, which  are  clubbed  into  three  umbrella  missions  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 schemes 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 24hours 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 multisectoral 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 schemes 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 incentive 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.

(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.

The  Government  of  India  implements  Anaemia  Mukt  Bharat  (AMB) programme in 6X6X6 strategy to reduce the prevalence of anaemia among six beneficiary groups - Children 6-59 months, Children 5-9 years, Adolescents (10-19 years), Women of reproductive age (15-49 years), pregnant women and lactating mothers in lifecycle approach through six interventions - Prophylactic Iron and Folic Acid supplementation (IFA Syrup is provided biweekly to children 6-59 months, IFA Pink is provided weekly to children 5-9 years, IFA Blue is provided weekly to adolescents (10-19 years), IFA Red is provided weekly to Women of Reproductive age group and IFA Red tablets (daily for 180 days) are provided to pregnant women and lactating mothers), Deworming, Intensified year-round behaviour change communication campaign, Testing of anaemia using digital invasive haemoglobinometer  and  point  of care treatment, Mandatory  provision  of  iron  and  folic  acid  fortified  foods  in  public  health programmes,  addressing  non-nutritional  causes  of  anaemia  in  endemic pockets, with special focus on malaria, haemoglobinopathies and fluorosis, via robust institutional mechanism.

Under Mission Poshan 2.0 a new strategy has been made for reduction in malnutrition and for improved health, wellness and immunity through activities like  community  engagement,  outreach,  behavioral  change,  and  advocacy.  It focuses  on  Maternal  Nutrition,  Infant  and  Young  Child  Feeding  Norms, treatment  of  Severe  Acute  Malnutrition  (SAM)/  Moderate  Acute  Malnutrition (MAM) and wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce prevalence of wasting, stunting, and being underweight.

Under this scheme, Supplementary Nutrition is provided to Children (6 months to 6 years), Pregnant Women, Lactating Mothers and Adolescent Girls to  beat  the  intergenerational  cycle  of  malnutrition  by  adopting  a  life  cycle approach. Supplementary nutrition is provided in accordance with the nutrition norms  contained  in  Schedule-II  of  the  National  Food  Security  Act.  These norms have been revised and upgraded last year. The old norms were largely calorie-specific;  however,  the  revised  norms  are  more  comprehensive  and balanced in terms of both quantity and quality of supplementary nutrition based on the principles of diet diversity that provides quality protein, healthy fats and micronutrients.

Fortified  rice  is  being  supplied  to  AWCs  to  meet  the  requirement  of micro-nutrients and to control anaemia among women and children. Greater emphasis is being laid on the use of millets for preparation of Hot Cooked Meal at least once a week and Take Home ration at Anganwadi centers.

Under this Mission, one of the major activities undertaken is Community Mobilization and Awareness Advocacy leading to a Jan Andolan to educate people  on  nutritional  aspects.  State  and  UTs  are  conducting  and  reporting regular  sensitisation  activities  under  community  engagement  programmes during  Poshan  Maahs  and  Poshan  Pakhwadas celebrated in  the  months  of September  and  March-April  respectively.  Community  Based  Events  (CBEs) have served as a significant strategy in changing nutritional practices and all Anganwadi  workers  are  required  to  conduct  two  Community  Based  Events every month.

Ministry of WCD has signed an MoU on 26.02.2024 with M/o AYUSH for use of evidence-based Ayurveda interventions to prevent anemia and improve the nutritional status among Adolescent girls (14-18 years) in Mission Utkarsh Districts. The intervention is planned to be rolled out in the Districts of Dhubri (Assam), Bastar (Chhattisgarh), Paschimi Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), and Dhoulpur (Rajasthan). The Evidence based Ayush intervention  is  being  given  to  more  than  80,000  adolescent  girls  registered under Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) across 10,133 Anganwadi Centres.

(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 NonInstitutional  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 encouraging innovative solutions; (iv) Cement convergent action.

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 including the State of Uttarakhand. They target key areas of welfare &  development  of  women  and  children  aiming  to  create  a  more  inclusive, equitable, just and supportive society.

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