To promote gender equality (SDG-5) and empower women as active agents of change in society, the Government of India has launched various programs. These initiatives aim to address women’s overall development, including economic empowerment, healthcare, safety, education, skill development, and training.
1. Steps to Improve Female Work Participation:
- Safety of Women at Workplace:The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 applies to all women, regardless of their age or employment status. It provides protection against sexual harassment in all workplaces, whether in the public or private sector, organized or unorganized.
- Working Women Hostel: The objective is to encourage the availability of secure and conveniently situated housing options for working women. Additionally, these accommodations may include a day care facility for their children, particularly in urban, semi-urban, or even rural areas where there are employment opportunities for women. The aim is to support women in managing both their professional responsibilities and childcare needs by providing a suitable living environment.
- Female Entrepreneurship: The government has introduced schemes such as MUDRA, Stand Up India, and Mahila e-Haat to encourage and support female entrepreneurship.
- Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (MUDRA):It offers a reduction of 25 basis points in its interest rates to Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) / Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) that provide loans to women entrepreneurs.
- Stand Up India Scheme: It aims to promote entrepreneurship among women, scheduled castes, and tribes.
- Mahila E-Haat:It’s an online marketing platform for women and women SHGs.
- Rashtriya Mahila Kosh: It provides micro-credit at concessional terms to poor women for various livelihood and income generating activities.
- Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP):Women entrepreneurs are provided 25% and 35% subsidies for the project set up in urban and rural areas respectively.
- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): It seeks to reach out to 8-9 crore rural poor households and organize one-woman member from each household into affinity-based women SHGs and federations at village and at higher levels.
- National Rural Livelihoods Mission(NRLM), through Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), is supporting and expanding successful small-scale projects that increase women’s involvement and productivity in agriculture and related activities.
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana:At least 30% of the budget allocations need to be earmarked for women beneficiaries/ farmers.
- Swayatt: It is an initiative to promote Start-ups, Women and Youth Advantage through e-transactions on Government e Marketplace (GeM).
- Stree Swabhiman: Sanitary napkin micro-manufacturing units are being established at Common Service Centers (CSCs) throughout India, with a particular focus on those operated by women entrepreneurs.
- Nai Roshni:Economic empowerment and instilling confidence among minority women.
2. Steps to Improve Health of Women
- National Health Mission (NHM): It focuses on Health System Strengthening, Reproductive Maternal-Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A) and Communicable and Noncommunicable Diseases.
- Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY): It is part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and is a centrally sponsored scheme. Its goal is to decrease maternal and infant mortality rates by encouraging pregnant women to opt for institutional delivery.
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Sub-Schemes under Umbrella ICDS
- Anganwadi Services–It is designed for the comprehensive development of children below the age of 6 years and pregnant and lactating women.
- National Crèche Services – It aims to provide a secure environment for the children of working mothers while they are at work, enabling mothers to pursue employment.
- Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana – Offering partial compensation for the wage loss through cash incentives, allowing women to take sufficient rest before and after delivering their first living child.
- Poshan Abhiyan – To decrease stunting, undernutrition, low birth weight, and anemia among children and women/adolescent girls.
- Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY):To offer 8 Crore deposit-free LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households.
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP): A combined effort by the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare, and Human Resource Development to prevent gender-biased sex-selective practices, ensure the survival and protection of the girl child, and promote education and participation of girls.
3. Steps for Education, Skilling and Training of Women:
- National Policy for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015: To provide training and enhance skills for women in traditional, new, and emerging fields to promote their employment in both organized and unorganized sectors.
- Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana: To address the skill gap hindering India’s rural poor from competing in the modern market, with mandatory inclusion of socially disadvantaged groups (SC/ST 50%; Minority 15%; Women 33%).
- Vigyan Jyoti: To encourage women to pursue science and create an equal opportunity for talented girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in higher education.
- Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP): MWCD launched this program in the year 1986, for training and employment for women below poverty line in traditional sectors like agriculture, small animal husbandry, dairying, fisheries etc. where women are employed on a large scale. Its basic aim is to upgrade the skills of women for self and wage employment.
- Sukanya Samruddhi Yojana: To encourage parents to open a bank account in the name of a girl child to save for her higher education expenses.
- Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shakti Kendra (PMMSK): It is a Sub-scheme under the Umbrella Scheme Pradhan Mantri Mahila Shashaktikaran Yojana (PMMSY) to provide a platform for rural women to access government entitlements and empower them through training and capacity building.
- Project Cyber Shikshaa: Microsoft, in collaboration with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and MeitY, has launched this initiative to provide cybersecurity training to women engineering graduates in specialized areas.
- NARI portal: It is designed to be a one-stop platform, offering easy access to information and services related to various schemes and legislation specifically designed for women.
4. Steps for Safety of Women
- Nirbhaya Fund:It is a special fund that does not expire and is reserved for carrying out initiatives focused on improving the safety and security of women in the country.
- Sexual Harassment electronic–Box (SHe-Box): It is an online system designed for registering and managing complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace by women, including both government and private employees. Once a complaint is submitted through the SHe-Box portal, it is directed to the relevant authority with jurisdiction to take appropriate action in the matter.
- Swadhar Greh:This scheme aims to provide essential support to marginalized women and girls facing challenging circumstances without economic or social assistance. It includes emotional support and counseling for women who are victims of violence, survivors of natural disasters, trafficked women, and those without families. The goal is to address the needs of women in vulnerable situations.
- Sakhi One Stop Centre (OSC): To make it easier for women affected by violence to access a comprehensive range of services, including police assistance, medical care, legal support, psychological help, and temporary shelter.
- Women Helpline Scheme: To offer round-the-clock emergency and non-emergency assistance to women impacted by violence, including cases of sexual offenses and harassment, whether in public or private settings, encompassing family, community, workplace, etc.
- UJJAWALA: This scheme is designed to prevent trafficking and offer assistance in the rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, and repatriation of women and child victims engaged in commercial sexual exploitation in India. The implementation of the scheme primarily involves NGOs, ensuring direct aid and benefits for the victims of trafficking.
- Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC): This is an online portal for reporting cybercrimes, specifically focusing on complaints related to child pornography, child sexual abuse material, images of rape or gang rape, and sexually explicit content. The portal enables the public to report such incidents.
- National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO)to facilitate investigation and tracking of sexual offenders across the country by law enforcement agencies.
FAQs
Q: What is the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme?
Answer: Launched by the Government of India in 2015, the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services meant for girls in India. The scheme focuses on challenging the country’s skewed child sex ratio, promoting the education of girls, and preventing gender-based discrimination against girls. It emphasizes multi-sectoral interventions in districts with low Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and encompasses a nationwide awareness and advocacy campaign.
Q: What are the objectives of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)?
Answer: The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched by the Indian Government with the primary objective of providing LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. The scheme aims to safeguard the health of women and children by providing them with a clean cooking fuel, thus preventing the health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels and firewood. It also seeks to empower women and protect their health by reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on traditional methods.
Q: What is the Mahila-E-Haat program?
Answer: Mahila-E-Haat is an online platform launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of India. It aims to support and empower women entrepreneurs, self-help groups (SHGs), and NGOs by providing a direct online marketplace to showcase and sell their products without requiring a physical presence. This platform facilitates the showcasing of various products made by women entrepreneurs, including handicrafts, handloom, accessories, and more, thereby enabling them to reach a broader market.
Q: Can you explain the Swadhar Greh Scheme?
Answer: The Swadhar Greh Scheme is designed to provide relief and rehabilitation to women in distress and marginalized situations. Women facing social and economic challenges, such as destitute widows, women prisoners released from jail and without family support, women survivors of natural disasters, women victims of terrorism/extremist violence, and others, are offered shelter, food, clothing, and care. The scheme’s primary goal is to rehabilitate these women socially and economically through various support services such as counseling, training, and medical aid.
Q: What is the Working Women Hostel scheme?
Answer: The Working Women Hostel scheme is an initiative by the Government of India to promote the availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with daycare facility for their children, wherever possible. The scheme aims to support women working in cities and towns far from their hometowns and provide them with affordable housing. This not only helps in increasing the employment of women in urban areas but also ensures their safety and security. The hostels are equipped with essential amenities to cater to the needs of working women.
In case you still have your doubts, contact us on 9811333901.
For UPSC Prelims Resources, Click here
For Daily Updates and Study Material:
Join our Telegram Channel – Edukemy for IAS
- 1. Learn through Videos – here
- 2. Be Exam Ready by Practicing Daily MCQs – here
- 3. Daily Newsletter – Get all your Current Affairs Covered – here
- 4. Mains Answer Writing Practice – here
