Lok Sabha Question No. 1276 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-09
Subject: Under-Utilisation of Funds
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: M V V Satyanarayana

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1276

TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.02.2024

## UNDER-UTILISATION OF FUNDS

## 1276.  SHRI M.V.V. SATYANARAYANA:

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

- (a) whether the gap between allocation and actual spending by the Government on the  empowerment and protection  of  women  has  been  rising  for  the  last  six years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (c) the details of the steps taken by the Government to bridge this gap?

## 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 in the country. The Government has adopted multi-pronged 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.

Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  being  the  nodal  Ministry  for  the advancement of women and children, formulates plans, policies and programmes; enacts/ amends legislation, guides and coordinates the efforts of various stakeholders. In the past few years, a number of initiatives have been taken for holistic development and empowerment of women.

The  Ministry  implements  the  Umbrella  Scheme  named  as  'Mission  Shakti' during the 15 th  Finance Commission period with effect from the financial year 202223,  which  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.

Prior to 'Mission Shakti', the Ministry was implementing various sub-schemes under Mission for Protection and Empowerment of Women (MPEW) viz., Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP), Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK), Swadhar Greh, Ujjawala, Working Women  Hostel  (WWH),  Gender  Budgeting,  Research,  Publication  &  Monitoring, Information and Mass Communication (Media), One Stop Centre (OSC), Universalisation of Women Helplines (WHL), Mahila Police Volunteers (MPV), etc. that aimed at protection and empowerment of women. There were, however, issues in implementation of these sub-schemes, and the full potential of sub-schemes remained largely underutilized. The problems in implementation includes various organs working in  silos  with  inadequate  linkage  with  prevailing  legal  framework  or  local  facilities available in districts; unevenly placed institutional mechanisms  with lack of standardisation; lack of adequately trained staff, appropriate monitoring and convergence mechanisms, etc.

Mission  Shakti  has  two  sub-schemes  -'Sambal'  and  'Samarthya'.  In  the 'Sambal' sub-scheme, which is for safety and security of women, the pre-existing scheme of One Stop Centre (OSC), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) have been included with modifications and a new component of 'Nari Adalat women collectives for alternative dispute resolution' has been added.

In  the  'Samarthya'  sub  scheme,  which  is  for  empowerment  of  women,  preexisting schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh and Working Women Hostel (WWH) have been  included  with  modifications-  'Ujjwala  and  Swadhar  Greh  homes  have  been merged and named 'Shati Sadan', while the WWH are named and 'Sakhi Niwas'.  In addition,  the  earlier  existing  National  Creche  Scheme  has  been  reformulated  and launched  as  'Palna'.  Both  'Palna'  and  Pradhan  Mantri  Matru  Vandana  Yojana (PMMVY)  have now been included in Samarthya. A new component for Economic Empowerment i.e. Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW) has been added in the Samarthya Scheme 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 counselling/ 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.

Year-wise release of funds under the schemes for empowerment and protection of women during the last six years is at Annexure .

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## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in the reply to part (a) to (c) of the Lok Sabha Un-starred Question  No.  1276  for  answer  on  09.02.2024  regarding  'Under-utilisation  of Fund'

Year-wise release of funds on the basis of demand and utilization of fund by States/ UTs under the schemes for empowerment and protection of women during the last six years are as under:

| Financial Year   |   Amount Released (Rs. in crore) |
|------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2018-19          |                          1724.48 |
| 2019-20          |                          2689.5  |
| 2020-21          |                          1441.11 |

*Prior to Mission Shakti, for various components i.e. Mahila Shakti Kendra, Swadhar Greh, Beti Bacho Beti Padhao, One Stop Centre, Women Helpline, Working Women Hostel, Ujjawala, PMMVY, Creche etc. for empowerment and protection of women.

| Financial Year   | Amount Released (Rs. in crore)   |
|------------------|----------------------------------|
| 2021-22          | 1912.38                          |
| 2022-23          | 2340.15                          |
| 2023-24          | 800.91 (till 30.01.2024)         |

*For various components under Mission Shakti. *****