Inclusive Development and Rural Women

  • Key agents for achieving the transformational economic, environmental and social changes required for sustainable development.
  • Inclusive development is multi-faceted.
  • Can be achieved through growth with equity, social, economic and political.
  • Inclusive development can be achieved through:
    • Suitable policy formulation
    • Proactive intervention
    • Effective policy implementation
    • People՚s participation in the governance process
  • Rural women are key agents for achieving:
    • Transformational economic
    • Environmental changes
    • Social changes
  • Challenges faced by Rural women
  • Limited access to credit.
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Women Empowerment Process
    • Women gain greater share of control over resources.
    • Material, human and intellectual such as knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources like money as well as control over decision making in the home, community, society and nation so as to gain “power” .

Government Empowerment Programmes for Rural Women

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)

  • Flagship scheme was launched initially to address the declining Child Sex Ratio.
  • To prevent gender-biased sex selective elimination.
  • A national campaign.
  • Ensuring survival and protection of the girl child and ensuring education of the girl child.
  • Child Sex Ratio (CSR) is defined as number of girls per 1000 of boys between 0 – 6 years of age.
  • Sex Ratio at Birth has improved from 918 in 2014 – 15 to 931 in 2018 – 19.
  • Objective of the initiative is prevention of gender-biased sex selective elimination.
  • Ensuring survival and protection of the girl child and ensuring education.
  • Participation of the girl child.
  • Focused multi-sectoral action in 100 selected districts low in CSR, covering all states and UTs.
  • Health Management Information System (HMIS) report of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) :
    • Shared by Women and Child Development Minister.
    • Gross enrolment ratio of girls across all levels of education is now higher than boys.
  • At elementary level, it is 94.32% as against 89.28% for boys.
  • At Secondary level, it is 81.32% as compared to 78% .
    • At higher secondary level a level of 59.70% as compared to 57.54% for boys
  • Other concerns:
    • Strict enforcement of PC-PNDT Act, Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act.
    • Provisions to motivate higher education for girls and related issues of disempowerment of women on a lifecycle continuum.
    • It has been independently growing widely in local domains as well since its inception in 2015.
  • All India expansion of BBB:
    • To cover all 640 districts.
    • Launched by the Prime Minister on March 8,2018.
    • For deeper positive impact on CSR with an outlay of ₹ 1133 crore during 2017 – 18 to 2019 – 20.
    • Include Multisectoral intervention in 244 districts in addition to existing 161.
    • Physical implementation of the scheme will happen while 235 districts will be covered through Alert District Media, Advocacy and Outreach.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

  • An effective scheme to aid poor section of Indian society.
  • This programme is anticipated to be implemented over a period of three years till fiscal 2018 - 19.
  • The intent of this scheme is to make cooking gas (LPG) available to women from families that are financially backward.
  • The programme is also expected to cover five crore such households in all.

Main Objectives

  • Enhance the status of women and caring for their health.
  • Help to decrease air pollution due to use of fossil fuel.
  • Lessening the serious health risks related with cooking based on fossil fuels.
  • Reducing the number of deaths due to unclean cooking fuels, which is almost 5 lakh every year in India.
  • Preventing young children from acute respiratory illness caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuels.

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM)

  • Ajeevika is a major project of Ministry of Rural Development.
  • It focuses on rural women and aims to achieve universal social mobilization by involving rural women.
  • At least one woman member from each identified poor rural household, is to be brought under the Self Help Group (SHG) network in a time bound manner.
  • NRLM has devised special strategies to reach out to all these vulnerable communities and help them graduate out of poverty.

Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY)

  • To skill rural youth who are poor and provide them with jobs having regular monthly wages or above the minimum wages.
  • One of the clusters of initiatives.
  • Ensure full social inclusion of the candidates by mandatory coverage of socially disadvantaged group.
  • One-third of the persons covered should be women.

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP)

  • Aims to improve the present status of women in agriculture.
  • To enhance the opportunities for empowerment.

Rastriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)

  • Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • Extends micro-credit to the women in the informal sector.
  • Through a client-friendly, collateral-free and a hassle-free manner for income generation activities.
  • Has taken a number of promotional measures to popularize the concept of micro-financing, enterprise development, thrift and credit, formation and strengthening of women SHGs through intermediary organizations.
  • Education of credit management has been integrated with the provision of credit, along with literary and skill training for individual women and leadership training among groups for self-management.

Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK)

  • To support rural women.
  • To address the livelihood needs of women.
  • Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • To empower rural women through community participation.
  • Capacity building of women collectives is envisaged in not more than 50% of the MSK blocks in 115 aspirational districts.
  • This component is to be implemented in collaboration with NGOs⟋ Cooperative Societies⟋ Krishi Vigyan Kendras.
  • A sub-scheme under the Umbrella Scheme Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women for implementation during 2017 – 18 upto 2019 – 20 to empower rural women through community participation.
  • To provide an interface for rural women to approach the government for availing their entitled benefits and for empowering them through training and capacity building.
  • This scheme is committed to play an important role for empowerment of rural women especially in the most backward 115 districts of the country.
  • Community engagement through College Students Volunteers.
  • Student volunteers will play an instrumental role in awareness generation regarding various important government schemes⟋ programmes as well as social issues and association with NSS⟋NCC cadre students will also be an option.
  • At the national, state, block level, websites⟋IT tools will be made available for monitoring and feedback.
  • Web based⟋ online feedback mechanism will be developed for submission of queries and grievance Redressal.

National Repository of Information for Women (NARI)

  • Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • Will Provide citizen easy access to information on government schemes and initiative for women.
  • Rural women can access these schemes on their own or with the help of various frontline workers associated with government schemes at the ground level.
  • All the information on various schemes⟋programmes relevant for women will be updated on a regular basis.
  • This will be used by MSK staff to improve access and utilization of government schemes by rural women at the ground level.

Mahila E-Haat

  • An initiative to economically empower women through financial inclusion.
  • A bilingual portal Mahila e-Haat, a direct online digital marketing platform for women entrepreneurs⟋SHGs⟋NGOs in March 2016.
  • It received over 1450 lakh visitors.
  • Women entrepreneurs⟋SHGs⟋NGOs from 22 states showcased approximately 1800 products⟋ services.
  • It has 23000 registered SHGs with 3 lakh beneficiaries.
  • The women entrepreneurs⟋ SHGs⟋NGOs have transacted business of over ₹ 20 lakh.
  • A website which leverages technology for showcasing products made⟋ manufactured⟋sold by women entrepreneurs.
  • Provides access to markets for women entrepreneurs across the country.

Empowering Elected Women Representative (EWRs)

  • Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  • An extensive training programme.
  • Objective of empowering Elected Women Representative (EWRs) .
  • Help them assume the leadership roles expected of them and guide their villages for a more prosperous future.
  • An empowered EWR can ensure that the same can be translated among women in her community.
  • Government should ensure and empower rural women to claim their rights to land, leadership, opportunities and choices and to participate in shaping laws, policies and programmes.
  • To promote equal rights, opportunities and participation so that rural women can market their goods and make a strong contribution to inclusive sustainable rural development.

National Nutrition Mission (NNM)

  • To deal with the problem of malnutrition.
  • To achieve an improvement in the nutritional status of children of 0 – 6 years and pregnant and lactating women in a time bound manner, during the three years beginning from 2017 – 18, with defined targets.
  • To prevent and reduce stunting in:
    • Children (0 – 6 years) by 6 percent@2 percent p. a.
    • Under-nutrition in children (0 – 6 years) by 6@2% p. a.
    • Reduce the prevalence of Anaemia among young children (6 – 59 months) by 9% @ 3% p. a.
    • Reduce the prevalence of Anaemia among women and adolescent girls in the age group of 15 – 49 years by 9 percent@3 percent p. a.
    • Reduce low birth weight by 6percent@2per cent p. a.

Swadhar Greh Scheme

  • Launched in 2015.
  • To cater to primary needs of women in difficult circumstances.
  • Women are provided with shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment and care are exclusively provided, and meanwhile, legal guidance is also given to enable their readjustment in family ⟋ society.
  • Need to prevent women from exploitation.
  • To support their survival and rehabilitation.
  • The scheme of Short Stay Home for women and girls was introduced as a social defense mechanism:
  • Department of Social Welfare in 1969.
  • To provide temporary accommodation, maintenance and rehabilitative services.
  • To women and girls rendered homeless due to family discord, crime, violence, mental stress.
  • Swadhar A Scheme:
    • Launched in 2001 - 02.
    • Department of Women and Child Development.
    • Provisions of shelter, food, clothing, counselling, training, clinical and legal aid.
    • To rehabilitate women in difficult circumstances.
  • As of November 2019, there are a total of 417 SWADHAR Greh across the country.
  • Rehabilitation for their emotional and economic state is rendered to enable them to start life afresh.
  • At present 561 Swadhar Graeh are functioning in the country benefiting 17,291 women.
  • A widow home with the capacity of 1000 people has been constructed at Sunrakh Bangar, Vrindavan.

Examrace Team at Oct 6, 2020