28-Dec-2018: Capacity Building Programme for Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions

The Government of India has initiated the Capacity Building Programme for Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions with an objective of empowering them by developing leadership capacities so that they serve as catalysts for social change and function as peer facilitators in the field, become vocal for their rights and participate effectively in the governance processes.

State Governments have been actively involved in imparting these trainings. Mainly, State Institute of Rural Developments (SIRDs) and State Resource Centres (SRCs) are actively collaborating with Ministry of Women and Child Development in conducting training programmes across the States. Convergence with various Departments at the district level is being sought while organizing the training programme. This involves collaborating with institutions of the Departments of Panchayati Raj, Agriculture, Women & Child Development, Rural Development, etc.  In Phase-I of the programme (2017-18), a total 18,578 EWRs in 14 States were trained. In Phase-II, 18 States have been included for capacity building programmes for EWRs.

Details of States/UTs, No. of Districts, No. of Elected Women Representatives to be trained in Phase-II

Sl. No.	States/UTs	No. of Districts	No. of EWRs to be trained
1	Uttar Pradesh	75	3375
2	Karnataka	30	1350
3	Gujarat	33	1485
4	Chhattisgarh	27	1215
5	Himachal Pradesh	12	540
6	Punjab	22	990
7	Goa	2	90
8	Sikkim	4	180
9	Lakshadweep	1	45
10	Assam	33	1485
11	Manipur	16	720
12	Tripura	8	360
13	Daman & Diu	2	90
14	Andaman &Nicobar	3	135
15	Nagaland	11	495
16	Maharashtra	3	180
17	Madhya Pradesh	51	2295
18	Rajasthan	1	45
	Total	334	15030

The Capacity Building Programme undertaken by Ministry of Women and Child Development is a significant endeavour in creating a forum for EWRs to understand their roles and responsibilities in a more prolific manner. Although it is the first step towards harnessing the full potential of EWRs, but this is envisioned as a continuous process in order to instill confidence, courage, conviction, motivation and above all providing hand-holding support to EWRs for mainstreaming them in the governance process.

27-Nov-2017: Government launches programme to train Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayats

The Minister of Women and Child Development launched an intensive training program for Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Master Trainers. This capacity building program is being organized by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) of the WCD Ministry which will ultimately train approximately twenty thousand EWRs covering nearly 50 EWRs from each district by March, 2018.

Addressing the participants at the inauguration of the program, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that this is an historic step since for the first time ever an initiative of this scale has been taken up to train EWRs who will go out and administer the villages professionally. It is regrettable that not many women sarpanches and EWRs come forward to take up their responsibilities and mostly allow their husbands to take the lead. So, they remain ‘sarpanchanis’ in name only.

Training two lakh women sarpanches across the country will help bring following important changes; it will help to create model villages and prepare women as political leaders of the future.

The training program will include simple engineering skills will give them an insight into women’s issues as well as focus on education and financial matters. Awards will be given to the Master Trainers to those who have succeeded in empowering EWRs of their areas. The Minister also appreciated the initiatives taken by some states to specify certain minimum education level for sarpanches and panchayat members.

The Capacity building of Elected Women Representatives (EWRs) is critical to empower women to participate effectively in the governance processes. This will help them assume the leadership roles expected of them and guide their villages towards a more prosperous future.