9-Dec-2022: Scheme for digital empowerment of women

The Government has taken various steps to ensure empowerment of women and girls through their educational, social, economic and political uplifting through various schematic interventions. The Government has also taken several initiatives for digital literacy of citizen including women and girls so that they are able to operate digital devices (like computers, smart phones etc.) and work on it for various purposes including for educational, commercial and digital transaction purposes. One such initiative is 'Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)' under Digital India programme. It aims to bridge the digital divide specially targeting rural population including the marginalised sections of society, women and girls by covering 6 crore rural households. As on 08.12.2022, the percentage of women benefited under PMGDISHA is over 53% of total enrolled, over 54% of total trained and over 56% of total certified.

In addition, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education is administering ‘National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology’ (NMEICT) Scheme, SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds), SWAYAM PRABHA, National Digital Library (NDL), Virtual Lab, e-Yantra, NEAT (National Education Alliance for Technology) etc. to ensure quality education through e-learning to students across the country.

Ministry of Women and Child Development has taken a number of initiatives to empower women through the schemes and programmes implemented in the country. The Ministry has formulated ‘Mission Shakti’, an Integrated Women Empowerment Programme, as Umbrella Scheme for the Safety, Security and Empowerment of Women for implementation during the 15th Finance Commission period. It aims at strengthening interventions for safety, security and empowerment of women in a mission mode through institutional and convergence mechanism for greater efficiency, effectiveness and financial prudence.

The Umbrella Scheme of 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 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 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.

2-Aug-2022: Ministry of Women and Child Development issues Guidelines of ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0' - an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme

Ministry of Women and Child Development has issued Operational Guidelines regarding implementation of ‘Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0'.   The scheme has been approved by the Government of India for implementation during the 15th Finance Commission period 202l-22 to 2025-26.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.

With a view to address various gaps and shortcomings in the on-going nutrition programme and to improve implementation as well as to accelerate improvement in nutrition and child development outcomes, the existing scheme components have been re-organized under Poshan 2.0 into the primary verticals given below:

• Nutrition Support for POSHAN through Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) for children of the age group of 06 months to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers (PWLM); and for Adolescent Girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts and North Eastern Region (NER);
• Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years] and early stimulation for (0-3 years);
• Anganwadi Infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi; and
• Poshan Abhiyaan

The objectives of Poshan 2.0 are as follows:

• To contribute to human capital development of the country;
• Address challenges of malnutrition;
• Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing; and
• Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies.

Poshan 2.0 shall focus on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment Protocols for SAM/MAM and Wellness through AYUSH practices to reduce wasting and under-weight prevalence besides stunting and anemia, supported by the ‘Poshan Tracker’, a new, robust ICT centralised data system which is being linked with the RCH Portal (Anmol) of MoHFW.

3-Mar-2022: Ministry of Women and Child Development in Partnership with UNICEF holds Narishakti Varta on STEM and Financial Literacy For Young Women

As part of the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s ‘Iconic Week’ celebrating the International Women’s Day under the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, UNICEF YuWaah facilitated the #NaariShakti conversation, on ‘STEM and Financial Literacy for Young Women’. The event was graced by Smt Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development. Other participants included Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to Government of India, Shri Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Dr. Nisha Mendiratta, Advisor, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Head, Programme Divisions of Women In Science and Engineering (WISE_ KIRAN) and Climate Change Programme (CCP), Dr. Rajendra Kumar AS MeitY, Mr. Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF Representative in India and Dhuwarakha Sriram, Chief of Generation Unlimited (YuWaah), Youth Development and Partnerships at UNICEF India. Furthermore, adolescent girls from different parts of India joined the event, and many more participated virtually. This included the participation of adolescent girls who shared their experiences, aspirations and suggestions on gender equality in STEM and Financial Literacy for young women.

The event started with the panel on ‘Young Women in STEM: Opportunities, Challenges and Solutions’ focused on uniting diverse voices and sparking a commitment to gender equality in STEM. The panel had Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Dr. Nisha Mendiratta, Head, Programme Divisions of Women In Science and Engineering (WISE_ KIRAN) and Climate Change Programme (CCP), Dr. Rajendra Kumar and shri Indevar Pandey discussed how we can nurture young women to form an interest in science, to pursue higher studies and careers in STEM related fields, etc. moderated by Dhuwarakha Sriram. The panel also discussed the importance of women’s participation in STEM and benefits to India’s economic and social growth along with the Government Programs promoting women’s participation in STEM.

Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani interacted with young girls from civil society, NGOs and SHGs and two students from Atal Tinkering Lab, NITI Aayog  on the need for STEM education and Financial Literacy for girls and young women, encouraging them to pursue STEM careers and focus on financial literacy. This was followed by an immersion session by Neha Nagar, Entrepreneur, Investor and Finance Social Media Influencer on ‘Financial Literacy for girls and women’.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt Irani said ‘We need to do better in our conversations around STEM. We need to encourage young girls to actively take part in scholastic & academic events, explore virtual labs, pursue science for the sake of excellence in science from the perspective of research, as much as we encourage our young boys. And the focus has to be driven at a primary stage in order to achieve the desired results.’

Prof. K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to Govt of India mentioned, ‘Women have contributed immensely in the field of STEM, yet unfortunately there is a small percentage of women that have gained recognition for their contributions. Recently, we have started to acknowledge their efforts which is a stepping stone towards a better, more inclusive workspace culture. We also need to introduce more programs in the field so that more and more young women can actively participate in the process of development.’

Shri Indevar Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of WCD said ‘Young women face various social, cultural barriers regularly. The preconceived notion of women either being less capable to take up more technical subjects like STEM is deeply rooted in our society as such it creates a mind block in our young women, ultimately affecting their choices of careers. Parents and academicians must use gender-inclusive choice of words while addressing such situations, in order to not give rise to any biases.’

Dr. Nisha Mendiratta, Advisor, Department of Science and Technology (DST) said, ‘Science and Gender Equality are both very vital for the achievement of the internationally agreed upon SDGs, including the 2030 agenda. In this aspect, boosting the number of women and young girls entering careers in STEM is crucial for the overall development of any nation. We need to actively start creating programs to empower young women and better utilise their potential.’

Dr. Rajendra Kumar AS MeitY, highlighted ‘Of the 5 Million professionals in the IT sector in India, about 36% are women. The digital world is where we have seen increased participation from women, and we hope to encourage this trend further.’

Mr. Yasumasa Kimura, UNICEF Representative in India said, ‘More girls studying and working in STEM, and how we enable STEM access to the most marginalised girls will be the test of our success, especially as India enters a period of demographic transition to a 1 billion strong working age population. It is the full and equal participation of women that will turn India’s transition into a demographic dividend.’

4-Feb-2022: Schemes/Programmes for empowerment of women

The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing various schemes/ programmes to bring women into the mainstream of all the sectors in the country in order to empower them. The details are as under:

1. One Stop Centre and Universalization of Women Helplines: Ministry of WCD is administering two schemes from Nirbhaya Fund namely One Stop Centre and Universalization of Women Helplines. The One Stop Centres (OSCs), popularly known as Sakhi Centres, aim to facilitate women affected by violence (including domestic violence) with a range of integrated services under one roof such as Police facilitation, medical aid, providing legal aid and legal counselling, psycho-social counselling, temporary shelter etc. The Women Helpline (WHL) Scheme provides 24 hours emergency and non-emergency response to women affected by violence, both in public and private spaces by linking them with appropriate authority such as Police, One Stop Centre, Hospital, Legal Services etc. WHL also supports women in distress with rescue van and counselling services in addition to providing information about women welfare schemes and programs across the country. Women can dial 181 short code to avail services from Women Helpline.
2. Swadhar Greh Scheme: The Swadhar Greh Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for women who are victims of difficult circumstances in need of institutional support for rehabilitation so that they could lead their life with dignity.
3. Ujjawala Scheme: The Ujjawala Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and for Rescue, Rehabilitation, Reintegration and Repatriation of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
4. Working Women Hostel: Working Women Hostel Scheme is implemented by the Government with the objective to provide safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facility for their children, wherever possible, in urban, semi urban, or even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.
5. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao(BBBP) : Beti Bachao Beti Padhao(BBBP) Scheme was launched on 22nd January 2015 with an aim to address declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of empowerment of girls and women over a life cycle continuum. The objectives of the scheme are, to prevent gender biased sex selective elimination, to ensure survival and protection of the girl child and to ensure education and participation of the girl child.
6. Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK): The Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK) Scheme was approved in November, 2017 as a centrally sponsored scheme to empower rural women through community participation. The aims to facilitate inter-sectoral convergence of schemes and programs meant for women. The scheme is implemented through State Governments and UT Administrations with a cost sharing ratio of 60:40 between Centre and States except for North East & Special Category States where the funding ratio is 90:10. For Union Territories 100% central funding is provided.
7. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) is a Centrally Sponsored Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme, for implementation across the country with effect from 01.01.2017. The maternity benefit under PMMVY is available to all Pregnant Women & Lactating Mothers (PW&LM), excluding PW&LM who are in regular employment with the Central Government or the State Governments or Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) or those who are in receipt of similar benefits under any law for the time being in force, for first living child of family. Under the scheme Rs.5,000/- are provided to the eligible beneficiary in three installments during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling certain nutrition and health seeking conditions. The eligible beneficiary also receives the remaining cash incentive as per approved norms towards maternity benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery so that on an average, a woman gets Rs.6,000/-.

Recently, Ministry has launched ‘Mission Shakti’ (Integrated Women Empowerment Programme) - an Umbrella Scheme in a mission mode aimed at strengthening interventions for safety, security and empowerment of women. It seeks to realise the Government’s vision for ‘women-led development’ by addressing issues affecting women on a life-cycle continuum basis and by making them equal partners in nation-building through convergence across Ministries/ Departments and different levels of governance, greater participation and support of Panchayats and other local governance bodies and Jan Sahabhagita, apart from strengthening digital infrastructure for last mile tracking of service delivery.

2-Feb-2022: Umbrella Schemes of Ministry of Women & Child Development: Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya

Empowerment and protection of women and children who constitute 67.7% of India’s population and ensuring their wholesome development in a safe and secure environment is crucial for sustainable and equitable development of the country and for achieving transformational economic and social changes. Ministry of Women and Child Development strives to ensure well-nourished and happy children and confident, self-reliant women by providing them with an environment which is accessible, affordable, reliable and free from all forms of discrimination and violence. The prime objective of the Ministry is to address gaps in State action for women and children and to promote inter-ministerial and inter- sectoral convergence to create gender equitable and child centred legislation, policies and programmes.

To achieve the above objectives, Cabinet has recently approved 3 important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya.

Mission POSHAN 2.0 is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent eco-system to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity. Poshan 2.0 will seek to optimize the quality and delivery of food under the Supplementary Nutrition Program.

Mission Poshan 2.0 will contribute to human capital development of the country; address malnutrition challenges; promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health & well-being and address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies. Under the programme, nutritional norms and standards and quality and testing of THR will be improved and greater stakeholder and beneficiary participation will be promoted besides traditional community food habits. Poshan 2.0 will bring 3 important programmes/schemes under its ambit, viz., Anganwadi Services, Scheme for Adolescent Girls and Poshan Abhiyaan.

Poshan 2.0 shall focus on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment of MAM/SAM and Wellness through AYUSH. It will rest on the pillars of Convergence, Governance, and Capacity-building. Poshan Abhiyan will be the key pillar for Outreach and will cover innovations related to nutritional support, ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan.

Mission Poshan 2.0 will integrate several key strategies to fulfil its objectives, viz., Corrective strategies, Nutrition Awareness strategies, Communication strategies and Creation of green eco-systems. The objectives under Mission Poshan 2.0 will be realized through strong interventions-driven convergent activities with key Ministries/Depts./Organizations.

Digital infrastructure under the “Poshan Tracker” rolled out by MoWCD on 1st March 2021 through National e-Governance Division as a governance tool, will strengthen and bring about transparency in nutrition delivery support systems. Technology under Poshan Tracker is being leveraged for (i) dynamic identification of stunting, wasting, under-weight prevalence among children; (ii) last mile tracking of nutrition service delivery.

Mission Shakti envisages a unified citizen-centric lifecycle support for women through integrated care, safety, protection, rehabilitation and empowerment to unshackle women as they progress through various stages of their life. Mission Shakti has two sub-schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’. While the “Sambal” sub-scheme is for safety and security of women, the “Samarthya” sub-scheme is for empowerment of women. The Sambal sub-scheme consists of the existing scheme of One Stop Centres (OSC), Women Helplines (181-WHL) and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP). Besides, a new component of Nari Adalats has been added as women’s collectives to promote and facilitate alternative dispute resolution and gender justice in society and within families. The “Samarthya'' sub scheme is for empowerment of women, consisting of existing schemes of Ujjwala, Swadhar Greh and Working Women Hostel. In addition, the National Creche Scheme for children of working mothers and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), which have been under the Umbrella ICDS Scheme till now, are also subsumed in ‘Samarthya’.

Mission Vatsalya Children have been recognized by policy makers as one of the supreme national assets. India is home to 472 million children upto the age of 18 years and comprise 39 percent of the country’s population. The objective of Mission Vatsalya is to secure a healthy and happy childhood for every child in India; foster a sensitive, supportive and synchronized ecosystem for development of children; assist States/UTs in delivering the mandate of the Juvenile Justice Act 2015; achieve the SDG goals.

Components under Mission Vatsalya will include statutory bodies; service delivery structures; institutional care/services; non-institutional community based care; emergency outreach services; training and capacity building.

All 3 Missions will be implemented during the 15th Finance Commission period 2021-22 to 2025-26.

Mission POSHAN 2.0including Poshan Abhiyaan has a total financial implication of ₹1,81,703 crore, comprising₹1,02,031 crore as Central share and ₹79,672 crore as State share. The increase in Central share is approx. Rs 10,108.76cr (10.99%). The total cost under Mission Poshan 2.0 has been calculated on the basis of cost sharing ratio between the Central and States/UTs, as approved by Government i.e., 60:40 for States and UTs with legislature, 90:10 for NER & Himalayan States and UT of J&K and 100% for Union Territories without legislature.

Mission Shakti has a total financial implication of Rs 20989 Crore, with a Central Share of Rs 15761 Cr and State share of Rs 5228 Cr. The sub-scheme of ‘Sambal’ will be implemented as Centrally Sponsored scheme with 100% central funding from Nirbhaya Fund/ MWCD budget with provision for direct release of funds to the District Collector or the concerned Directorate/Commissionerate in State/ UT. The sub-scheme ‘Samarthya’ will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme with funding ratio of 60:40 between Centre and State Governments / UTs with legislature, except North East & Special Category States / UTs with legislature where the fund ratio will be 90:10. For UTs without legislature, 100% funding will be provided by the Central Government. The total central share funds outlay under Mission Shakti has been increased to approx. 24 % from Rs. 12742 Cr to 15761 Cr.

Mission Vatsalya has a total financial implication of Rs 10916 Crore, with a Central Share of Rs 6928 and State share of Rs 3988. During last 5 years, total allocation under Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme was Rs 3852 crore which shows an increase of about 63.68% in allocation under Mission Vatsalya as compared to CPS scheme.

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