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| Empowering women: Socially and Economically | | |
Dr. Parveen Kumar
There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise. Unfortunately in the country, women still lack access to equal educational opportunities, do not have equal social and political representation as with their male counterparts and still when it comes to decision making, it is the male member of the family that has the final say. If we look at the vital development indicators, we see that women are at the back foot. When it comes to literacy, only 48% of adult Indian women are literate. Women are also the victims of domestic violence. About 36.1% of rural women have experienced physical violence. This domestic violence has made them the causality of divorce and widowhood. Studies reveal that about 66% of women who have experienced physical violence in their lifetimes are divorced, widowed, or deserted. Lower caste and tribal women are among those who experience the highest levels of physical violence. 85.3% of women reporting violence claimed that their current husbands were the perpetrators. The current pandemic has further added to the woes of the women folk. With their husbands coming back to villages due to the lockdown incidence of increased domestic violence has been reported. Regarding employment opportunities, data of the latest Demographic and Health Survey analysis reports that only 43% of currently married women (between ages 15-49) are employed as compared to 99% of men. So a lot needs to be done for empowering women socially as well as economically. The central government as well as the respective state governments has launched various schemes for the safety and empowerment of women. Some of them are mentioned as below:
BETI BACHAO, BETI PADAO (BBBP)
Disturbed over the decreasing sex ratio and the prevalence of female feticide, the government of India came up with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padao scheme cum an awareness compaign. The scheme is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the ‘Save the Girl Child’ movement was launched on January 22, 2015. It started with initial funding of Rs 100 crore. It mainly targets the states Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi and Haryana where sex ratio is below the national average.
ONE STOP CENTRE SCHEME:
Basically a one stop solution for the women folk, this scheme is also known as ‘Sakhi’. The scheme was implemented on April 1, 2015 with the ‘Nirbhaya’ fund. Such One Stop Centres have been set up at various locations all across the country to basic and immediate services like police
desk, shelter, legal help, medical aid and counseling services to victims of violence under one roof, integrated with a 24-hour helpline. The toll-free helpline number for ‘One Stop Centre’ Scheme is 181. Another related scheme is the working women hostels which promote the availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women. Such accommodations have daycare facility for the children of women wherever possible.
MAHILA-E-HAAT:
Launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, it is a direct online marketing platform to support women entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups (SHGs) and Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Through this online platform they are made to showcase their products and services rendered by them. This is a part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative. Women can register themselves at www.mahilaehaat-rmk.gov.in and leverage technology for showcasing their work to a broader market.
SUPPORT TO TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT (STEP)
This is a skill development programme aimed to develop specific skills among women and girls so as to increase their chances of self employment. The Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme exists to provide skills and to leverage them with necessary competencies that enable women to become self-employed/entrepreneurs. This scheme involves a particular project by a woman or group of women for duration of up to five years depending upon nature, kind of activities and the number of beneficiaries to be undertaken. The project relates to sectors like Agriculture, Horticulture, Food Processing, Tailoring, stitching, Handlooms, Zari, Embroidery, Handicrafts, Gems, Jewellery, Travel and Tourism, Computer and Information Technology enabled services.
SWADHAR GREH
It is a scheme basically meant for the rehabilitation of women living in difficult and tough situations. The ‘Swadhar Greh’ scheme was also launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in 2002 and is meant to provide the basic necessities to the neglected, resource poor and marginalized women and girls. These basic necessities include food, housing, drinking water, clothing and healthcare. The beneficiaries also include widows deserted by their families and relatives, women prisoners released from jail and without family support, women survivors of natural disasters, women victims of terrorist/extremist violence etc. The scheme is mainly implemented by Non Governmental Organizations.
NARI SHAKTI PURUSKARS
Another effort towards empowering the women by recognizing their efforts is through the Nari Shakti Puruskar. These national level recognitions are for the efforts made by women and institutions that make a difference in women’s lives, especially vulnerable and marginalized women.
ANNAPURNA SCHEME:
Under this scheme, an amount of rupees 50,000 for women to establish their own small scale business in food processing and value addition as loan is provided to buy equipments and utensils.
BHARATIYA MAHILA BANK BUSINESS LOAN: To support women entrepreneurs on a large scale to enable them to scale up their business; an amount of rupees 20 crores as a loan to provide economic empowerment to the women is provided under Bharatiya Mahila Bank Business Loan. The Bank commenced its operations in 2013 and currently has 45 branches all over the country.
MUDRA: This is also an initiative of government of India to improve the economic status of women by providing them business loans of three categories based on the scale of their business. After approval they are being provided with MUDRA cards for withdrawal of the loan amount with a withdrawal limit of 10% of the loan.
DENA SHAKTI SCHEME: This is a scheme confined to women entrepreneurs or micro credit institutions engaged in retail, manufacturing. The scheme carries a loan of rupees 20 lakhs and the maximum ceiling limit to women beneficiaries is provided according to the sector the women need to expand or plan.
PRADHAN MANTRI ROZGAR YOJANA: Another self employment scheme covering both urban and rural areas carries a subsidy component to the tune of 15% of the project cost with an upper ceiling of rupees 12,500. It covers all types of ventures with a loan limit of rupees 2 lakh for business while for service and industry it is rupees 5 lakh. The age limit is 35 years.
MAHILA UDYAM NIDHI: This scheme promotes MSMEs and small sector investment in different industries to grow and excel in their areas. It also encourages reconstruction of SSI units that are deemed incapable but are actually viable to be saved. This loan has a time period of 10 years and the loan limit is rupees 10 lakh.
UDYOGINI SCHEME: This scheme covers women having an annual income of not more than rupees 40, 000. Such women can avail a loan of rupees one lakh under this scheme.
TREAD: Trade-Related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD) Scheme for Women is a subsidy in India provided by the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises. The government provides a subsidy of up to 30% of the total project cost as appraised by lending institutions which would finance the remaining 70% as loan Assistance to applicant women. Women eligible under this scheme are who have no easy access to credit from banks due to their cumbersome procedures and the inability of poor & usually illiterate/semi-literate women to provide adequate security demanded by banks in the form of collaterals. |
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