Lok Sabha Question No. 3414 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-18
Subject: Welfare and Rehabilitation of Widows
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: R. GOPALAKRISHNAN, SONA RAM CHOUDHARY, ARJUN RAM  MEGHWAL, G. HARI, SAUGATA ROY, ANIRUDHAN SAMPATH, ANTO  ANTONY, KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN STARRED QUESTION NO 3414

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2015

## WELFARE AND REHABILITATION OF WIDOWS

3414     SHRI R. GOPALAKRISHNAN COL. SONARAM CHOUDHARY SHRI ARJUN MEGHWAL SHRI G. HARI PROF. SUGATA ROY DR. A. SAMPATH SHRI ANTO ANTONY SHRI KUNWAR PUSHPENDRA SINGH CHANDEL

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government maintains any data about number of widows in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government implements or proposes to formulate any scheme for the welfare and rehabilitation of widows including their re-marriage alongwith establishment of widow homes and imparting training to them;
- (c) if so, the details thereof indicating the financial assistance provided thereunder during each of the last three years and the current year;
- (d) whether  the  Government  has  received  any  proposal  from  Non-Governmental  Organisations (NGOs) for their rehabilitation/re-marriage, if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon; and
- (e) whether the Government also proposes to formulate a national policy and national cell for widows and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI  MANEKA SANJAY GANDHI)

- (a)      Office of the Registrar General, India conducts decadal Population Census wherein data on widows is collected.  As per Census 2011, there are 4,32,61,478 widows in the country. State/UT wise number of widows is given in Annexure-I.
- (b)       Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing two shelter based Central Sector Schemes namely Swadhar and Short Stay Home for rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances who are without  any  social  and  economic  support.    The  main  objective  of  the  scheme  is  to  provide  primary needs  of  shelter,  food,  clothing  and  medical  care.    The  scheme  also  provides  for  skill  training  and counseling.  The implementing agencies eligible for assistance are Social Welfare/Women and Child Welfare  Departments  of  State  Governments,  Women  Development  Corporations  and  Voluntary Organisations.    At  present    311    Swadhar  Homes  are  functional  across  the  country  providing rehabilitation services for more than 17000 and 322 Short Stay Homes accommodating 9660 women who are in need.
- (c) Details  of    grant  released  to  the  implementing  agencies  under  these  two  schemes  in  the  last  three years and the current year are at Annexure-II and Annexure-III.
- (d)              &  (e)    As  stated  at  para  (a)  and  (b)  two  schemes  Swadhar  and  Short  Stay  Home  are  running  for rehabilitation  of  women  in  difficult  circumstances    and  funds  are  released  to  implementing  agencies including voluntary organizations for running these homes as per schematic norms.

********

## ANNEXURE I

## STATEMENT  REFERRED TO PART ( A ) OF REPLY TO LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3414 FOR 18.12.2015

## STATE WISE NUMBER OF WIDOWS IN THE COUNTRY

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State/UTs     | Number of widows as per Census 2011   |
|-----------|---------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh            | 42,97,481                             |
| 2.        | Assam                     | 11,56,042                             |
| 3.        | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 12,525                                |
| 4.        | Arunachal Pradesh         | 31,787                                |
| 5.        | Bihar                     | 22,38,793                             |
| 6.        | Chandigarh                | 24,496                                |
| 7.        | Chattishgarh              | 9,73,787                              |
| 8.        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      | 7,378                                 |
| 9         | Daman & Diu               | 6,816                                 |
| 10        | Delhi                     | 4,56,613                              |
| 11.       | Gujarat                   | 20,15,742                             |
| 12.       | Goa                       | 77,935                                |
| 13.       | Haryana                   | 7,73,297                              |
| 14.       | Himachal Pradesh          | 2,93,475                              |
| 15.       | Jharkhand                 | 10,27,878                             |
| 16.       | Jammu & Kashmir           | 2,83,650                              |
| 17.       | Karnataka                 | 1,91,400                              |
| 18.       | Kerala                    | 20,10,984                             |
| 19.       | Lakshadeep                | 2,448                                 |
| 20.       | Madhya Pradesh            | 21,60,609                             |
| 21.       | Maharashtra               | 45,20,764                             |
| 22.       | Manipur                   | 77,990                                |
| 23.       | Mizoram                   | 28,569                                |
| 24.       | Meghalaya                 | 84,825                                |
| 25.       | Nagaland                  | 39,496                                |
| 26.       | Odisha                    | 16,12,627                             |
| 27.       | Punjab                    | 9,28,158                              |
| 28.       | Puducherry                | 73,579                                |
| 29.       | Rajasthan                 | 19,83,634                             |
| 30.       | Sikkim                    | 13,717                                |
| 31.       | Tamil Nadu                | 38,56,398                             |
| 32.       | Tripura                   | 1,64,969                              |
| 33.       | Uttar Pradesh             | 48,56,188                             |
| 34.       | Uttarakhand               | 3,87,215                              |
| 35.       | West Bengal               | 37,92,184                             |
|           | Total                     | 4,32,61,478                           |

## ANNEXURE-II

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART(c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.3414 FOR 18.12.2015 REGARDING WELFARE AND REHABILITATION OF WIDOWS (Fund released under Swadhar Scheme )

(Rupees in lakhs)

| Sl. No   | Name of States           | Amount released 2012-13   | Amount released 2013- 14   |   Amount released 2014-15 |   Amount released 2015-2016 as on 14.12.2015 |
|----------|--------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 1.       | Andhra Pradesh           | 88.51                     | 184.77                     |                     93.78 |                                        41.2  |
| 2.       | Assam                    | 112.96                    | 97.98                      |                    128.91 |                                        11.5  |
| 3.       | Andaman &Nicobar Islands | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 4.       | Arunachal Pradesh        | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 5.       | Bihar                    | 0                         | 33.01                      |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 6.       | Chandigarh               | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 7.       | Chhatisgarh              | 7.11                      | 7.17                       |                      7    |                                         5.26 |
| 8        | Dadra & Nagar Haveli     | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 9.       | Daman & Diu              | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 10.      | Delhi                    | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 11       | Gujarat                  | 44.46                     | 27.75                      |                     19.2  |                                         4.85 |
| 12       | Goa                      | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 13       | Haryana                  | 21.98                     | 9.07                       |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 14       | Himachal Pradesh         | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 15       | Jharkhand                | 21.40                     | 7.79                       |                     28.58 |                                         0    |
| 16.      | Jammu & Kashmir          | 0                         | 20.23                      |                      5.99 |                                         9.71 |
| 17.      | Karnataka                | 293.17                    | 270.96                     |                    268.04 |                                        30.14 |
| 18       | Kerala                   | 15.61                     | 16.10                      |                     20.79 |                                         0    |
| 19       | Lakshadweep              | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 20       | Madhya Pradesh           | 126.93                    | 114.58                     |                     76.12 |                                        34    |
| 21       | Maharastra               | 321.02                    | 301.49                     |                    279.06 |                                        15.84 |
| 22       | Mizoram                  | 3.10                      | 8.64                       |                      2.51 |                                         2.48 |
| 23       | Manipur                  | 165.14                    | 148.52                     |                    106.63 |                                        34.2  |
| 24       | Meghalaya                | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 25       | Nagaland                 | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 26.      | Odisha                   | 465.96                    | 16.20                      |                    104.86 |                                       235.18 |
| 27       | Punjab                   | 1.60                      | 1.80                       |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 28       | Puducherry               | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 29       | Rajasthan                | 47.53                     | 58.65                      |                     23.35 |                                         9.36 |
| 30       | Sikkim                   | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 31       | Tamil Nadu               | 101.82                    | 120.63                     |                     38.53 |                                        12.49 |
| 32.      | Telangana                | -                         | -                          |                     74.85 |                                        47.78 |
| 33.      | Tripura                  | 0                         | 0                          |                      0    |                                         0    |
| 34       | Uttar Pradesh            | 402.73                    | 144.39                     |                    247.03 |                                       253.49 |
| 35       | Uttarakhand              | 48.39                     | 0                          |                     60.91 |                                         3.63 |
| 36       | West Bengal              | 73.73                     | 128.81                     |                     74.18 |                                        25.78 |
|          | Total                    | 2363.15                   | 2018.55                    |                   1660.32 |                                       776.89 |

## ANNEXURE - III

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN  PART (c) OF REPLY TO LOK SABHA UN- STARRED QUESTION NO. 3414 FOR

18.12.2015 REGARDING WELFARE AND REHABILITATION OF WIDOWS

(Fund released under SHORT

STAY HOME SCHEME)                  (Rupees in lakhs)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State     | Amount released 2012-2013   | Amount released 2013-2014   |   Amount released 2014-2015 |
|-----------|-----------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh        | 340.07                      | 332.17                      |                       85.23 |
| 2.        | Assam                 | 108.85                      | 116.29                      |                       90.36 |
| 3.        | A & N Islands         | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 4.        | Arunachal Pradesh     | 14.96                       | 9.28                        |                        8.52 |
| 5.        | Bihar                 | 51.73                       | 217.99                      |                       51.74 |
| 6.        | Chandigarh            | 2.28                        | 5.01                        |                        4.46 |
| 7.        | Chattishgarh          | 17.45                       | 35.44                       |                       23.06 |
| 8.        | Dadrar & Nagar Haveli | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 9.        | Daman & Diu           | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 10.       | Delhi                 | 14.71                       | 18.63                       |                        2.71 |
| 11.       | Gujarat               | 20.02                       | 21.41                       |                        8.69 |
| 12.       | Goa                   | 4.37                        | 7.03                        |                        0.19 |
| 13.       | Haryana               | 34.50                       | 9.98                        |                        7.63 |
| 14.       | Himachal Pradesh      | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 15.       | Jharkhand             | 15.04                       | 8.16                        |                       10.7  |
| 16.       | Jammu & Kashmir       | 12.49                       | 11.98                       |                        6.03 |
| 17.       | Karnataka             | 311.63                      | 246.54                      |                       14.6  |
| 18.       | Kerala                | 31.68                       | 40.60                       |                       15.26 |
| 19.       | Lakshadeep            | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 20.       | Madhya Pradesh        | 148.45                      | 139.29                      |                      114.55 |
| 21.       | Maharashtra           | 272.29                      | 275.42                      |                      126.91 |
| 22.       | Manipur               | 60.26                       | 40.16                       |                       42.17 |
| 23.       | Mizoram               | 7.92                        | 4.68                        |                        9.02 |
| 24.       | Meghalaya             | 0                           | 0                           |                        0    |
| 25.       | Nagaland              | 14.63                       | 7.76                        |                        6.19 |
| 26.       | Odisha                | 312.94                      | 309.37                      |                      173.43 |
| 27.       | Punjab                | 23.01                       | 14.82                       |                       11.29 |
| 28.       | Puducherry            | 2.23                        | 10.07                       |                        2.32 |
| 29.       | Rajasthan             | 28.85                       | 23.44                       |                       19.88 |
| 30.       | Sikkim                | 4.84                        | 5.83                        |                        3.87 |
| 31.       | Tamilnadu             | 333.37                      | 343.57                      |                      234.21 |
| 32.       | Telangana             | -                           | -                           |                      130.14 |
| 33.       | Tripura               | 37.45                       | 44.24                       |                       23.85 |
| 34.       | Uttar Pradesh         | 344.38                      | 342.27                      |                      249.49 |
| 35.       | Uttrakhand            | 49.21                       | 63.99                       |                       42.13 |
| 36.       | West Bengal           | 240.44                      | 281.89                      |                      146.76 |
|           | TOTAL                 | 2860.05                     | 2987.31                     |                     1810.16 |

During the financial year 2015-2016 sanction/released amount is NIL.