Lok Sabha Question No. 59 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Schemes for Women Empowerment in Tribal Areas
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Naba (Hira) Kumar Sarania

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 59

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## SCHEMES FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN TRIBAL AREAS

- †59.    SHRI NABA KUMAR SARANIA:

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

- (a) the  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  for  empowerment  of  women  of  the country who are still backward and live in the villages;
- (b) the  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  for  the  tribal  women  living  in  forest villages and the areas mentioned in the Fifth and Sixth Schedule, State-wise and district-wise; and
- (d) whether special attention is being given by the Government to the women of North Eastern States, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI )

(a)  to  (d):   The  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment of women across the country including tribal areas. The Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach to address all issues relating to 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 Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), nearly 9.98 crore women are connected with around 90 lakh women's self-help groups that are transforming rural socio-economic 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.

Through the 73 rd  amendment to the Constitution of 1/3 rd  seats in the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have been reserved for women. However, 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  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 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  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 wage-loss and promotion of health seeking behaviour among pregnant women and lactating mothers, Government has implemented the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) which provides cash incentives in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode to pregnant and lactating mothers. Benefits have been extended to around 3.29 crore women through this scheme.

Construction  of  over  11.60  crore  toilets  under  'Swachchh  Bharat   Mission', clean cooking gas connections  to more than 10.14 crore women below poverty line under 'Ujjawala Yojana' and connecting over 14.21 crores out of 19.26 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  under  Pradhan  Mantri  Gramin  Digital Sakasharta  Abhiyan  (PMGDISHA)  that  seeks  to  make  6  crore  persons  digitally literate, by covering one member from every eligible household.

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 intersectoral  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.

In  addition,  the  Ministry  of  Tribal  Affairs  through  National  Scheduled  Tribes Finance and Development Corporation (NSTFDC), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) extends concessional loans to the eligible Scheduled Tribe persons across the country for undertaking income generation activities/ self-employment through its implementing agencies. NSTFDC formulated an exclusive scheme for women titled 'Adivasi Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana' (AMSY) for economic empowerment through providing concessional finance for undertaking any income generation activity. The State-wise  details  of  the  loans  disbursed  and  number  of  beneficiaries  under  this scheme till 2022-23 is as under:

| Sl. No.   | States/ UTs      | AMSY                  | AMSY                 |
|-----------|------------------|-----------------------|----------------------|
| Sl. No.   | States/ UTs      | Amount (Rs. in Lakhs) | No. of beneficiaries |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh   | 1090.92               | 5484                 |
| 2         | Chhattisgarh     | 830.96                | 1590                 |
| 3         | Goa              | 0.45                  | 1                    |
| 4         | Gujarat          | 10593.95              | 51747                |
| 5         | Himachal Pradesh | 122.00                | 320                  |
| 6         | Jammu & Kashmir  | 500.40                | 545                  |
| 7         | Jharkhand        | 93.10                 | 504                  |
| 8         | Karnataka        | 911.30                | 1259                 |
| 9         | Kerala           | 594.12                | 830                  |
| 10        | Madhya Pradesh   | 593.49                | 1326                 |
| 11        | Maharashtra      | 1486.55               | 3718                 |
| 12        | Meghalaya        | 11.34                 | 29                   |
| 13        | Mizoram          | 62.10                 | 138                  |
| 14        | Odisha           | 107.30                | 520                  |
| 15        | Rajasthan        | 1620.65               | 2763                 |
| 16        | Sikkim           | 146.97                | 316                  |
| 17        | Tripura          | 121.30                | 224                  |
| 18        | Uttarakhand      | 3.80                  | 9                    |
| 19        | West Bengal      | 3832.86               | 37842                |
|           | TOTAL            | 22723.56              | 109165               |

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