Lok Sabha Question No. 5711 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-04
Subject: Schemes for Rural Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Satpal Brahamchari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5711

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.04.2025

## SCHEMES FOR RURAL WOMEN

## †5711. SHRI SATPAL BRAHAMCHARI:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  launched  any  new  scheme  in  Haryana  with special focus on the overall development of rural women during the last three years;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, district-wise;
- (c) the  details  of  the  budgetary  allocation  made  in  Parliamentary  Constituency Sonipat under the said scheme, district-wise; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  include  encourage  and  support  NonGovernmental Organizations (NGOs)  working in this field in the said Parliamentary Constituency and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (d): 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 including the State of Haryana.

Under  Deendayal  Antyodaya  Yojana  -  National  Rural  Livelihoods  Mission  (DAYNRLM), nearly 10.29 crore rural households mobilized into 91.75 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 12.47 crore toilets under 'Swachh Bharat Mission', clean cooking gas connections to 10.33 crore women below poverty line under 'Ujjawala Yojana' and connecting over 15.51 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.

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.

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.

The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  (MWCD)  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.

(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).

Under the schemes being implemented by MWCD, State/UT-wise allocation of funds are not earmarked beforehand as the schemes are demand driven and as and when the SNA norms are complied with, funds are released directly to States and UTs.

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.

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