Lok Sabha Question No. 1262 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-02-06
Subject: Women Empowerment Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dr. Nishikant Dubey

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1262

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026

## WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SCHEME

## 1262.   DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY:

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

- (a) the details of women empowerment related schemes being run by the Government in the State of Jharkhand during the last three years;
- (b) the details of the amount utilized by the Government on these schemes during the said period, year and district-wise;
- (c) the extent to which the said schemes have been successful in achieving their objectives;
- (d) the number of Anganwadis in said State especially in Santhal Pargana districts;
- (e) the details of the benefits extended to the child and mother through these Centres in the said districts along with the number of beneficiaries availing the said benefits since 2019, yearwise and Anganwadi-wise; and
- (f) the details of the schemes being implemented/under consideration for girls below 18 years of age?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (c):  The Government gives utmost priority to the safety, security and empowerment of women in the country.  Government has adopted a multi-pronged  approach on  a life-cycle continuum basis to address the issue of women for their educational, social, economic and political empowerment so that they lead the process of development of India.

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 Jharkhand.

Under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), nearly 10.29 crore women are connected with women's self -help groups that are transforming rural socio-economic landscape in in country.

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.

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.

The Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Act, 2025 mandates that at least one third of the jobs generated under the scheme 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 17.53 crore toilets under 'Swachh Bharat Mission', clean cooking gas connections  to  over  10.49  crore  women  below  poverty  line  under  'Ujjawala  Yojana'  and connecting over 15.79 crore rural household with tap drinking water connections u nder 'Jal Jeevan Mission' have transformed the lives of women by reducing their drudgery and care burden.

National Agriculture Market  or e-NAM,  an  online  trading platform for agricultural commodities  is  helping  women  overcome  and  compensate  for  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.

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  Prime  Minister's  Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) which have been launched for helping women set up their own enterprises.

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

In  order  to  bring  women  in  the  mainstream  of  political  leadership  at  the  grass  root  level, Government has reserved at least 33% of the seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) for women through the 73 rd amendment to the Constitution. As per available data, there are more than  12.06  lakh  Elected  Women  Representatives  (EWRs)  in  PRIs,  which  is  approximately 49.75% of the total elected representatives.

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 th 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 has been implementing the Umbrella Scheme named as 'Mission Shakti' during the 15 th Finance Commission period with effect from the financial year 2022-23. It is aimed at strengthening interventions for women safety, security and empowerment.

The 'Sambal' sub -scheme 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.

The 'Samarthya' sub scheme 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).

Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandna Yojana (PMMVY) is a centrally sponsored scheme aims to provide cash incentive through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode to Pregnant Women & Lactating  Mothers  (PW&LM) for  partial  compensation  for  wage  loss  so  that  she  can  take adequate rest before and after delivery and to improve her health seeking behaviour. Benefit of ₹5,000/ - in two instalments are provided for first child. Further, as per the new guideline for 'Mission Shakti', applicable with effect from 01.04.2022, the sche me seeks to promote positive behavioural change towards girl child by providing additional cash incentive of ₹6,000/ - for the second child, if that is a girl child. Benefits have been extended to over 4.26 crore women through  this  scheme  since  inception  till  31.01.2026.  Anganwadi  cum  Crèche  under  Palna component aims to support mothers by providing them childcare support. SANKALP: HEW facilitates 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 Anganwadi Services under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is a universal, no-entry barriers scheme under which pregnant women and lactating mothers are eligible for the services including the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP).

Pradhan  Mantri  Janjati  Adivasi  Nyaya  Maha  Abhiyan  (PM-JANMAN)  aims  to  target  the development of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in order to saturate PVTG households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, and  sustainable  livelihood  opportunities.  Under  the  PM-JANMAN  Scheme,  Ministry  of Women and Child Development has sanctioned 2500 new AWCs in PVTG habitations by way of convergence with Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 including 495 AWCs in the State of Jharkhand.

Total fund allocated to State of Jharkhand under PM JANMAN amounts to Rs. 59.4 Cr out of which Rs. 13.32 cr has been released.

The year-wise details of funds released to the State of Jharkhand for various schemes is at Annexure-I .

(d): As per Poshan Tracker as on December 2025, the number of Anganwadis in Jharkhand is 38,871. The total number of Anganwadis in Santhal Pargana districts comprising of Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur are 9,726.

(e):  As  per  Poshan  Tracker  as  on  December  2025,  the  number  of  beneficiaries  in  Santhal Pargana districts comprising of Dumka, Godda, Deoghar, Jamtara, Sahibganj and Pakur are 6,63,611. The year-wise number of beneficiaries in the State of Jharkhand is at Annexure-II .

(f): The Government is implementing several schemes/ programmes for overall development of girls below 18 years of age in the country including the State of Jharkhand.

The  Scheme  for  Adolescent  Girls  (SAG)  has  been  subsumed  under  Mission  Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 w.e.f. 01.04.2022. The targeted beneficiaries under this scheme are girls in the age group of 14 -18 years in the Aspirational Districts and all North Eastern States.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme benefits girls under 18 years of age by promoting education, skill development, and sports participation through initiatives like 'Khelo India.' The scheme aims to help improve the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), increase institutional deliveries, Antenetal Check-up (ANC) Registration and reduce dropout rates among girls at secondary and higher secondary levels by raising awareness.

Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Programme aims to reduce anemia among vulnerable groups, including children aged 6-59 months, adolescent boys and girls (15-19 years).

Samagra Shiksha is an integrated scheme for school education from pre-school to class XII, supporting  the  implementation  of  the  National  Education  Policy  2020  and  the  Right  to Education Act, 2009. It emphasizes early childhood care and education, foundational literacy and  numeracy,  a  holistic  and  inclusive  curriculum,  enhancing  learning  outcomes,  bridging social and gender gaps, and ensuring equity and inclusion at all education levels.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme seeks to bridge gender and social category gaps in school education by providing residential schooling facilities for girls up to Class XII. Under  the  scheme,  the  girls  in  the  age  group  of  10-18  years  from  Scheduled  Caste  (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Class (OBC), minority communities, and BPL families are covered.

Vigyan Jyoti Programme encourages girls to pursue education and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) fields to improve gender balance. It targets meritorious girls from Class IX to Class XII and includes student-parent counselling, career counselling, additional academic support classes, tinkering activities, special lectures, visits to scientific institutions, labs, industries, and science camps and workshops.

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## Annexure-I

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO PART (A) TO (C) OF THE LOK SABHA  UN-STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1262  FOR  ANSWER  ON  06.02.2026 REGARDING 'WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SCHEME'

Year-wise details of funds released under Mission Shakti

| Sl. No.   | States    | Amount released (Rs. In Crores)   | Amount released (Rs. In Crores)   | Amount released (Rs. In Crores)   |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
|           |           | 2022-23                           | 2023-24                           | 2024-25                           |
| 1.        | Jharkhand | 29.39                             | 12.83                             | 39.37                             |

Annexure-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO PART (A) TO (C) OF THE LOK SABHA  UN-STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  1262  FOR  ANSWER  ON  06.02.2026 REGARDING 'WOMEN EMPOWERMENT SCHEME' Year-wise number of beneficiaries of Anganwadi Scheme in the State of Jharkhand since 2019

| Year          | Beneficiaries in Jharkhand   |
|---------------|------------------------------|
| 2022          | 39,94,290                    |
| 2023          | 36,42,759                    |
| 2024          | 32,12,871                    |
| By April 2025 | 31,03,326                    |

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