Question : Schemes-Programmes for Women and Children

(a) the details of the schemes/ programmes implemented by the Government for the welfare of women including widow, destitute, old and poor women and children in the country, including Jammu and Kashmir;

(b) whether the said schemes/programmes are adequate for development of women and children in the country;

(c) if so, the details thereof along with number of women and children benefited therefrom during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise;

(d) the details of the funds sanctioned and released to the States/UTs under the said schemes/programmes along with its utilization reported by them during the said period, State/UT-wise and scheme-wise; and

(e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government for monitoring and effective implementation of such schemes in the country?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR)

(a) The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing various schemes/programmes for welfare of women and children across the country including Jammu and Kashmir. The details of schemes are as under:

i. Swadhar Greh Scheme, to provide relief and rehabilitation to destitute women and women in distress. Also, under this scheme a Widow’s Home with the capacity of 1000 inmates is under construction at Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh.


ii. National Creche Scheme (NCS) to provide day care facilities to children of age group of 6 months to 6 years of working mothers and other deserving women.


iii. Ujjawala, a comprehensive Scheme for prevention of trafficking and rescue, rehabilitation and re-integration of victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.
iv. Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) to provide loan to Intermediary Organisation (IMOs) like NGOs for on-lending to poor women beneficiaries.

v. Working Women Hostels (WWH), for ensuring safe accommodation for women working away from their place of residence. This scheme facilitates those working women who may be single, widowed, divorced, separated, married but whose immediate family members does not reside in the same area and those women who are under training for job. Provision of day care centre for children of the inmates of the hostel is an important aspect of the scheme.

vi. Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY): This flagship programme of the Government of India launched in January 2017. It envisages providing cash incentive amounting to Rupees 5,000/- directly to the Bank/Post Office Account of Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers in Direct Benefit Transfer Mode during pregnancy and lactation. The eligible beneficiaries would receive the Rs. 1000 as per approved norms towards Maternity Benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) after institutional delivery so that on an average, a women will get Rs.6,000/-.

vii. Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG): The scheme is being implemented in 205 selected districts across the country using the ICDS platform. The SAG scheme aims at an all-round development of adolescent girls (AGs) of 11-18 years by making them self-reliant through facilitating access to learning, health and nutrition through cost effective interventions.

viii. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP): BBBP is a comprehensive programme to address the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of disempowerment of women over a life-cycle continuum.

ix. Anganwadi Services: The Anganwadi Services Scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Government of India. This programme is for early childhood care and development. The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

x. Child Protection Scheme (CPS): CPS aims to create a safety net of dedicated structures, services and personnel for protection of children, especially those in difficult circumstances. The objective is to contribute to improvement in the well being of children in difficult circumstances, as well as to the reduction of vulnerabilities to situations and actions that lead to abuse, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from their families.

(b) to (d): The above mentioned schemes/programmes are being implemented to meet adequately the issues of development of women and children in the country. The State/UT-wise details of funds released under these schemes/programmer during the last three year and the current year are given at Annexure-I to Annexure-IX.

(e) The Ministry holds regular review meetings with Women and Child Development Departments of State Governments/UT Administrations to discuss the issues for effective implementation of the programmes and schemes to expedite beneficiary coverage and proper fund utilization. Regional level consultations are also held to discuss issues concerning implementation of schemes. The monitoring reports received from States/UTs are analyzed in the Ministry. The problem areas are communicated to concerned States/UTs for taking corrective actions. In addition, regular State visits are conducted by the Ministry’s officials in order to understand the implementation problems being faced by States/UTs. The schemes also have in-built monitoring mechanism to check fund utilisation. Regular follow-up is done by the Ministry and the States/UTs for every sanction of fund. The schemes are also periodically reviewed for their proper and better implementation.

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