The Ninth Five Year Plan- From Development to Empowerment-

It was during of the Ninth Five Year plan (1997-2002) that two significant development took place in the framework (outline) for chalking out women's development programmes. Hitherto, women were either being treated as target for development programmes or as participants. But not much attention was paid for creating an environment that would enable women to exercise their rights or enjoying their freedom. The Ninth Plan put forth the concept of Empowerment, which would create an enabling environment where, women can experience freedom not just in letter, but also in action. To achieve this goal, a National Policy for the Empowerment of Women was accepted by the Government of India in 2001. The second significant development, which took place during the Ninth Plan period was the adoption of a Women’s Component Plan. This plan directed both the Central and State governments to earmark (set apart) at least 30 per cent of the funds/benefits in all sectors for women's development.