9.4. Women Empowerment Programs/Schemes by GoI

For empowering the women, various program have been initiated by GoI as below:

1) Gender Budgeting- This concept was first introduced in Australia in mid 1980s & India incorporated this in its budget since 2005-06.

It is not an accounting exercise but an ongoing process of keeping a gender perspective in policy/ program formulation, its implementation and review. GB involves dissection of the Government budgets to establish its gender differential impacts and to ensure that gender commitments are translated in to budgetary commitments.

♤ Nirbhaya fund- In a tribute to the recent Delhi gang-rape victim of Dec 2012, government in the union budget 2013-14,announced setting up of a 'Nirbhaya Fund' of Rs 1,000 crore for safety and empowerment of women.

♤ An all-women bank was also proposed to be set up by October, 2013 with an initial capital of Rs 1,000 crore for the purpose to facilitate women empowerment

2) Working Women Hostel- The objective of the scheme is to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facility for their children, in urban, semi urban, or even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist.

3) Support to training cum employment for women (STEP)- Ministry of Women and child development 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 skills of women for self and wage employment.

4) Swayamsidha- It is an integrated program, seeks to empower women through awareness generation, achievement of economic independence through micro-level income- generating activities and by establishing convergence of various services such as literacy, health, rural development etc. It also aims at organizing women into Self-Help Groups, developing access to micro credit.

5) Swa Shakti – This project aims at establishment of more than 16000 self reliant women SHGs(Self Help Groups) having 15-20 members each & thereby enhance women’s access to and control over resources for betterment of their lives. Also to sensitise and strengthen the institutional capacity of support agencies to pro actively address women’s need.

6) Rashtriya Mahila Kosh – It is a national level mechanism to meet the micro credit needs of the poor and asset-less women in the Informal Sector. From inception in 1993 till February 2001, total credit worth Rs. 100 crore was sanctioned to benefit more than 400,000 women through 827 NGOs spread over the country. RMK has a very good recovery rate of 90 to 95 per cent.

7) Swadhar- This scheme aims to provide basic necessities to marginalised women and girls who are living in difficult circumstances without any economic or social support. Under this scheme women are provided with emotional support and counselling. The target group is mainly women who are victim of violence or survivors of natural disaster, trafficked women, and women without no families.