Lok Sabha Question No. 2697 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-04
Subject: Holistic Development of Rural Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Ranjeeta Koli, Manoj Rajoria, Sumedhanand Saraswati

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2697

TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2023

## HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL WOMEN

## 2697. SHRIMATI RANJEETA KOLI: DR. MANOJ RAJORIA: SHRI SUMEDHANAND SARASWATI::

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

- (a) whether the Government has launched any new scheme with special focus on the holistic development of rural women;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (c) the budget allocated under these new schemes, State/UT-wise including Rajasthan;
- (d) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  support  rural  women  by  involving  various organizations working in this field 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 SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI )

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

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  9.0  crore  women  are connected with around 83 lakh women's self-help groups that are transforming rural socioeconomic 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 around 3.3 crore women through this scheme.

Construction of over 11 crore toilets under 'Swachchh Bharat  Mission', clean cooking gas connections to over 9.50 crore women below poverty line under 'Ujjawala Yojana' and connecting  over  12.60  crores  out  of  19.43  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.

Through the 73 rd   amendment to the Constitution 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.

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 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 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. The funds allocated/ released to States/ UTs including Rajasthan for establishment of HEW, the new component of 'Mission Shakti' is at Annexure .

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## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No. 2697 for answer on 04.08.2023 regarding 'Holistic Development of Rural Women'

The State/UT-wise details of funds allocated/ released for establishment of HEW

|   Sl. No. | States/UTs                               | Amount Released (In Rupees)   |
|-----------|------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
|         1 | Andaman and Nicobar Islands              | 58,60,000                     |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh                           | 2,12,49,000                   |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh                        | 3,07,17,000                   |
|         4 | Assam                                    | 4,22,82,000                   |
|         5 | Bihar                                    | 3,05,01,000                   |
|         6 | Chandigarh                               | 32,90,000                     |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh                             | 2,66,46,000                   |
|         8 | Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 58,60,000                     |
|         9 | Delhi                                    | 96,84,000                     |
|        10 | Gujarat                                  | 2,66,46,000                   |
|        11 | Haryana                                  | 1,81,65,000                   |
|        12 | Himachal Pradesh                         | 1,56,82,500                   |
|        13 | Jammu & Kashmir                          | 2,49,34,500                   |
|        14 | Jharkhand                                | 12,03,000                     |
|        15 | Karnataka                                | 2,51,04,000                   |
|        16 | Kerala                                   | 1,19,97,000                   |
|        17 | Ladakh                                   | 45,75,000                     |
|        18 | Lakshadweep                              | 32,90,000                     |
|        19 | Manipur                                  | 2,03,08,500                   |
|        20 | Meghalaya                                | 1,56,82,500                   |
|        21 | Mizoram                                  | 1,45,26,000                   |
|        22 | Nagaland                                 | 2,03,08,500                   |
|        23 | Puduchery                                | 12,03,000                     |
|        24 | Punjab                                   | 1,89,36,000                   |
|        25 | Rajasthan                                | 2,66,46,000                   |
|        26 | Tamil Nadu                               | 3,05,01,000                   |
|        27 | Telangana                                | 2,66,46,000                   |
|        28 | Tripura                                  | 1,10,56,500                   |
|        29 | Uttar Pradesh                            | 5,90,28,000                   |
|        30 | Uttarakhand                              | 1,68,39,000                   |

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