The Seventh Five Year Plan

The Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1990) laid emphasis on generation (creation) of employment opportunities for women. Two new schemes-Support to Training and Employment (STEP) and Awareness Generation Programme for Rural and poor Women (AGP) were introduced. Three important Reports, which were to serve as useful guidelines for future development programmes of the government were also released during the seventh plan period. These were:

♤ Sharma Shakti (Report of the National commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector).

♤ National Perspective Plan on Women in (1988-2000).

♤ SAARC Guide Book on Women in Development.

The Decade 1990-2000 was declared as the SAARC decade of the Girl Child and as part of this event, programmes laying special thrust on (giving special importance to the ) the overall development of girl children were launched.