Lok Sabha Question No. 169 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-02
Subject: Economic Empowerment of Rural Women
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Nishikant  Dubey, Manoj Kumar Tiwari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 169

TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.02.2024

## ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF RURAL WOMEN

169.    DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

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

- (a) the details of the ongoing schemes for the economic empowerment of rural women in the country especially in the State of Jharkhand and Bihar;
- (b) the details of women benefitted from these schemes during each of the last t hree years and the current year; and
- (c) the  steps  taken  by  Government  to  address  the  shortcomings  noticed  in  the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh/ National Women Fund and improve its functioning?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  &  (b):   The  Government  gives  utmost  priority  to  the  safety,  security  and empowerment of women in the country including in the State of Jharkhand and Bihar. 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  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. The rate of participation of women (percentage of women person-days out of total in percentage) in the State of Jharkhand, Bihar and National level under MGNREGA is at Annexure-I .

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 in the name of the woman or jointly in the name of the husband and wife, except in the case of a widower/ unmarried/ separated person/ transgender. The details of women benefited under PMAY-G during each of the last three years and the current year is at Annexure-I .

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 3.29 crore women through this scheme. The State/UT-wise details of number of beneficiaries benefited under PMMVY during the last three years and the current year is at Annexure-I .

Construction  of  over  11.60  crore  toilets  under  'Swachchh  Bharat   Mission',  clean cooking gas connections  to 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.

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, 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 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  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  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 State/ UT-wise details of funds released for establishment of HEW is at Annexure-II .

(c) :      At the time RMK was set up, it was a prominent Government body working in the  area  of  extending  concessional  micro-finance  loans  to  poor  women  through Intermediary Organisations (IMOs). Over a period of time, substantial alternative credit facility mechanisms have become available to women entrepreneurs through various Government initiatives  like  Pradhan  Mantri  Mudra  Yojna  and  Stand  up  India.  The activities being performed by RMK are being performed by Banks, who are directly lending to more than 90 Lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs).

Based on the report on 'rationalisation of autonomous bodies', by the then Principal Economic Advisor, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), a proposal of Ministry to close down 3 organisations, including 'Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)' was approved on 6th April, 2023. The services of all the regular employees of RMK have ceased to exist w.e.f.  31st December, 2023 and they have all been granted all benefits they are entitled to under Special Voluntary Retirement Scheme (SVRS). Further, all activities of  RMK  have  been  closed  w.e.f.  31st  December,  2023  and  the  outstanding  loan portfolio has been transfer to SIDBI on 'as is where is basis' from the same date.

*****

## Annexure referred to in the reply to part (a) to (b) of the Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No. 169 for answer on 02.02.2024 regarding 'Economic Empowerment of Rural Women'

The details of women benefited under PMAY-G during each of the last three years and the current year:

| Year                       | Number of Houses sanctioned solely in the name of women   | Number of Houses sanctioned jointly in the name of wife and husband   |
|----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 2020-21                    | 11,89,336                                                 | 23,14,324                                                             |
| 2021-22                    | 10,43,728                                                 | 17,53,373                                                             |
| 2022-23                    | 13,65,487                                                 | 29,98,188                                                             |
| 2023-24 (as on 31.01.2024) | 2,23,353                                                  | 5,72,165                                                              |

The rate  of  participation  of  women  (percentage  of  women  person-days  out  of  total  in percentage) in the State of Jharkhand, Bihar and National level under MGNREGA during the last three years and the current year:

|                      | Women participation rate (%)   | Women participation rate (%)   | Women participation rate (%)   | Women participation rate (%)   |
|----------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| States/National/Year | 2020-21                        | 2021-22                        | 2022-23                        | 2023-24                        |
| Jharkhand            | 42.56                          | 45.61                          | 47.56                          | 47.88                          |
| Bihar                | 54.63                          | 53.19                          | 56.39                          | 54.24                          |
| National level       | 53.19                          | 54.82                          | 57.47                          | 59.13                          |

The State/UT-wise details of number of beneficiaries benefited under PMMVY during the last three years and the current year:

|   Sl. No. | State/UT                    | 2020-21   | 2021-22   | 2022-23   | 2023-24   |
|-----------|-----------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
|         1 | Andaman And Nicobar Islands | 2,189     | 1,644     | 2,051     | 661       |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh              | 2,92,094  | 39,226    | 4,98,446  | 1,06,248  |
|         3 | Arunachal Pradesh           | 8,529     | 4,204     | 5,611     | 863       |
|         4 | Assam                       | 2,01,400  | 2,85,471  | 2,23,291  | 1,22,128  |
|         5 | Bihar                       | 11,81,671 | 4,76,243  | 8,32,360  | 70,520    |
|         6 | Chandigarh                  | 7,986     | 8,119     | 8,743     | 1,305     |
|         7 | Chhattisgarh                | 1,83,332  | 1,92,578  | 2,32,490  | 62,555    |
|         8 | Dadra And Nagar Haveli      | 3,314     | 4,795     | 6,107     | 2,505     |
|         9 | Daman And Diu               | 1,471     |           |           |           |
|        10 | Delhi                       | 80,607    | 1,26,853  | 1,02,254  | 26,821    |
|        11 | Goa                         | 6,187     | 4,217     | 6,724     | 1,594     |
|        12 | Gujarat                     | 1,62,926  | 93,330    | 2,97,845  | 41,608    |
|        13 | Haryana                     | 1,19,822  | 2,10,874  | 2,16,287  | 14,212    |
|        14 | Himachal Pradesh            | 67,530    | 66,039    | 62,920    | 10,210    |
|        15 | Jammu And Kashmir           | 60,380    | 1,11,946  | 83,251    | 13,905    |
|        16 | Jharkhand                   | 1,78,563  | 1,52,662  | 1,43,597  | 0         |
|        17 | Karnataka                   | 5,06,308  | 4,46,404  | 7,49,493  | 1,78,622  |
|        18 | Kerala                      | 2,16,813  | 2,88,397  | 2,36,924  | 47,602    |
|        19 | Ladakh*                     | 1,173     | 1,071     | 290       | 1,021     |
|        20 | Lakshadweep                 | 665       | 481       | 0         | 370       |
|        21 | Madhya Pradesh              | 9,33,964  | 9,10,109  | 9,50,226  | 2,73,892  |
|        22 | Maharashtra                 | 8,08,517  | 7,82,527  | 7,81,877  | 80,071    |

|   23 | Manipur       | 16,442    | 8,353    | 7,847     | 5,833    |
|------|---------------|-----------|----------|-----------|----------|
|   24 | Meghalaya     | 10,004    | 12,689   | 11,806    | 2,855    |
|   25 | Mizoram       | 7,376     | 8,151    | 8,771     | 1,654    |
|   26 | Nagaland      | 6,073     | 4,655    | 5,847     | 131      |
|   27 | Odisha        | 0         | 0        | 0         | 0        |
|   28 | Puducherry    | 6,477     | 9,139    | 9,179     | 1        |
|   29 | Punjab        | 1,27,204  | 52,846   | 48,871    | 41,621   |
|   30 | Rajasthan     | 4,51,863  | 4,76,509 | 5,58,542  | 1,38,245 |
|   31 | Sikkim        | 3,219     | 2,668    | 3,273     | 981      |
|   32 | Tamil Nadu    | 4,69,571  | 2,74,703 | 2,33,325  | 3,25,980 |
|   33 | Telangana     | 0         | 0        | 0         | 0        |
|   34 | Tripura       | 24,277    | 16,723   | 27,594    | 5,641    |
|   35 | Uttar Pradesh | 13,02,623 | 9,89,646 | 16,97,574 | 1,39,314 |
|   36 | Uttarakhand   | 80,994    | 71,952   | 21,280    | 33,602   |
|   37 | West Bengal   | 11        | 2        | 8,83,177  | 0        |

*****

## Annexure referred to in the reply to part (a) to (b) of the Lok Sabha Un-starred Question No. 169 for answer on 02.02.2024 regarding 'Economic Empowerment of Rural Women'

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

|                                    | Amount released (Amount in Rupees)   | Amount released (Amount in Rupees)   |
|------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
|                                    | 2022-23                              | 2023-24 (As on 31.01.2024)           |
| Andhra Pradesh                     | 2,12,49,000                          |                                      |
| Arunachal Pradesh                  | 3,07,17,000                          |                                      |
| Assam                              | 4,22,82,000                          | 10,71,63,000                         |
| Bihar                              | 3,05,01,000                          |                                      |
| Chhattisgarh                       | 2,66,46,000                          |                                      |
| Delhi                              | 96,84,000                            |                                      |
| Goa                                | 0                                    | 30,37,500                            |
| Gujarat                            | 2,66,46,000                          | 3,52,62,000                          |
| Haryana                            | 1,81,65,000                          |                                      |
| Himachal Pradesh                   | 1,56,82,500                          | 2,00,47,500                          |
| Jammu & Kashmir                    | 0                                    | 2,49,34,500                          |
| Jharkhand                          | 12,03,000                            | 1,85,04,000                          |
| Karnataka                          | 0                                    | 2,51,04,000                          |
| Kerala                             | 1,19,97,000                          | 1,53,09,000                          |
| Manipur                            | 2,03,08,500                          |                                      |
| Meghalaya                          | 1,56,82,500                          | 2,88,56,250                          |
| Mizoram                            | 1,45,26,000                          | 1,39,32,000                          |
| Nagaland                           | 0                                    | 4,51,08,000                          |
| Puducherry                         | 12,03,000                            | 30,84,000                            |
| Punjab                             | 1,89,36,000                          |                                      |
| Rajasthan                          | 2,66,46,000                          |                                      |
| Sikkim                             | 0                                    | 87,43,500                            |
| Tamil Nadu                         | 3,05,01,000                          |                                      |
| Telangana                          | 2,66,46,000                          |                                      |
| Tripura                            | 1,10,56,500                          |                                      |
| Uttar Pradesh                      | 5,90,28,000                          |                                      |
| Uttarakhand                        | 1,68,39,000                          |                                      |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands        | 58,60,000                            | 58,60,000                            |
| Chandigarh                         | 32,90,000                            |                                      |
| Dadra Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 58,60,000                            |                                      |
| Ladakh                             | 45,75,000                            | 45,75,000                            |
| Lakshadweep                        | 32,90,000                            |                                      |

*****