YEAR END REVIEW                   2013

 

 

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The Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, came into existence as a separate Ministry with effect from 30 January, 2006. It is the nodal Ministry for all matters relating to women and children. The prime functions of the Ministry include promoting the survival, protection, development and participation of women and children in a holistic manner.

The following have been the significant achievements of the Ministry in 2013.

I.                  WELFARE OF WOMEN: LEGISLATIVE AND PROGRAMMATIC MEASURES

 

A.    Legislative Measures:

Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013:

·         Sexual Harassment at the workplace is a violation of women’s right to gender equality, life and liberty. It creates an insecure and hostile work environment, which discourages women’s participation in work, thereby adversely affecting their economic empowerment and the goal of inclusive growth.

 

·         The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 came into force with effect from 9^th December 2013.  The Act seeks to cover all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and protect them against sexual harassment at all workplaces both in public and private sector, whether organized or unorganized.

 

·         The Act under Section 4 and Section 6 creates a redressal mechanism in the form of Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and Local Complaints Committee (LCC). All workplaces employing 10 or more than 10 workers are mandated under the Act to constitute an ICC. Complaints from workplaces employing less than 10 workers or when the complaint is against the employer will be looked into by the LCC.  A  District Officer notified under the Act will constitute the LCC at the district level.

 

·         The Act mandates that the Committee shall complete the inquiry within a time period of 90 days. On completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the employer or the District Officer, as the case may be and they are mandated to take action on the report within 60 days.

 

·         The Act under Section 19 casts a responsibility on every employer to create an environment which is free from sexual harassment. Under it employers are required to organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees about the provision of this legislation and display notices regarding the constitution of Internal Committee, penal consequences of sexual harassment etc.

 

·         All Internal Complaints Committees are required to submit Annual reports to the employer who in turn will submit it to the district officer. All Local Complaints Committee shall submit their annual report to the district officer. The district officers will submit the report annually to the State Governments.

B. Programmatic Measures:

 

1.      Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY), a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women to better enabling environment by providing cash incentives for improved health and nutrition to pregnant and nursing mothers. It is being implemented initially on pilot basis in 53 selected districts using the platform of ICDS.

 

The Scheme envisages providing cash directly to pregnant and lactating women during pregnancy and lactation in response to individual fulfilling specific conditions. It would address short term income support objectives with long term objective of behavioural and attitudinal change. The scheme attempts to partly compensate for wage loss to Pregnant & lactating women both prior to and after delivery of the child.

 

Pregnant women of 19 years of age and above for first two live births are entitled for benefits under the scheme. All Government/PSUs (Central & State) employees are excluded from the scheme as they are entitled for paid maternity leave. The beneficiaries are paid Rs.6000/- in two equal installments per pregnant and lactating women on fulfilling specific conditions related to maternal and child health to partly compensation for wage loss to mothers/women during pregnancy and period of lactation. The cash incentives through provision of Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) would, not only, contribute to better enabling environment but also encourage and promote health and nutrition seeking behaviour. The scheme is now covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme and under which 16 districts have been included under Phase-I and Phase-II of the implementation.

 

As per provision of the National Food Security Act, 2013, the Ministry has reviewed the entitlement of maternity benefits of IGMSY beneficiaries in 53 districts from Rs. 4000 to Rs. 6000 which is effective from 5^th July, 2013 and accordingly letter has been issued to all States/UTs on 27-09-2013. With regard to universalisation of the scheme which will involve expansion of the Scheme from 53 districts to all districts in the country in a phase manner, a detailed proposal (EFC note) is under examination in the Ministry.

 

The Budget Estimate for 2013-14 is Rs. 500.00 crore and the Revised Estimate is Rs.300.00 crore. Funds amounting to Rs. 122.10 crore have been released to the States/UTs till December, 2013. The budget estimate for 2014-15 is calculated to be Rs. 1664.49 crore for implementing the scheme in accordance with the provisions of the National Food Security Act, 2013.

 

2.      RMK: Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (National Credit Fund for Women) was set up in 1993 with an initial corpus of  Rs. 31 crore. The principal corpus as on 1.4.2013 is Rs. 100 crore. 

 

The main objective of RMK is to provide micro-credit to poor women for various livelihood and income generating activities at concessional terms in a client-friendly credit delivery process and thereby bringing about their socio-economic development.

 

Interest Rate   -   The following policy decisions were taken during the year in favour of poor women:

            i.        The loan amount against Loan Promotion Schemes was enhanced from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh.

          ii.        Similarly loan limit under Main Loan Scheme has been increased from Rs. 300 lakh to Rs. 600 lakh.

        iii.        Loan limit under Housing Loan Scheme was increased from Rs 50 thousand to Rs. 1 lakh.

        iv.        Interest Rate from 8 % reduced to 6 % on reducing balance for NGO/VOs.  Similarly the interest charged by NGOs/VOs for the SHG members reduced from 18 % to 14 %.

 

Achievements since inception

 The performance of RMK since its inception till 31.3.2013: 

a. Loans Sanctioned    Rs. 349.95 crore

b. Loans Released    Rs. 286.90 crore

c. No. of  Women Beneficiaries  727,159 crore

 

3. Swadhar – A Scheme for Women in Different Circumstances

Swadhar Scheme was launched by the Ministry during the year 2001-02 for the benefit of women in difficult circumstances with the following objectives:

 

·     To provide primary need of shelter, food, clothing and care to the marginalized women/girls living in difficult circumstances who are without any social and economic support;

·     To provide emotional support and counseling to rehabilitate them socially and economically through education, awareness etc.;

·     To arrange for specific clinical, legal and other support for women/girls in need; and

·     To provide for help line or other facilities to such women in distress.

  

Target Group/Beneficiaries

·     Widows deserted by their families and relatives;

·     Women prisoners released from jail and without family support;

·     Women survivors of natural disaster who have been rendered homeless;

·     Trafficked women/girls rescued or runaway from brothels

·     Women victims of terrorist/extremist violence who are without any family support and without any economic means for survival;

·     Mentally challenged women (except for the psychotic categories   who require care in specialized environment in mental hospitals) who are without any support of family or relatives.

·     Women with HIV/AIDS deserted by their family and without social/economic support.

 

Since 1.1.2013 till 24.12.2013, an amount of Rs.63.76 crores has been released to 226 implementing agencies which are mainly NGOs.

  

4.      Ujjawala

 

The scheme was introduced in Dec, 2007 and is being implemented mainly through the Non-Government Organisations. It comprises five components:

 

1.      Prevention, which envisages formation of Community Vigilance Groups/ adolescences groups, awareness and sensitization of stake holders and preparation of IEC material, holding workshop etc.

2.      Rescue, safe withdrawal of the victim from the place of exploitation.

3.      Rehabilitation, which includes providing safe shelter for victims with basic inputs of food, clothing, counseling, medical care, legal aid, vocational training and income generation activities etc.

4.      Reintegration, which includes restoring the victim into the family/community (if so she desires) and follow up.

5.      Repatriation, to provide support to cross-border victims for their safe repartition to their country of origin.

 

From January 2013 to 24^th December 2013, 116 new projects of Ujjawala Scheme have been considered and 63 projects have been approved. An amount of Rs. 14.97  crore  has been released during this period.

 

Since 2007, 273 projects including 151 Rehabilitation Homes have been sanctioned under the Scheme spread over 23 States.

 

5.      Working Women Hostel (WWH)

           

Under the Scheme of Working Women Hostel financial assistance is provided for construction/ running of Hostel in rented premises for those working women who may be single, widowed, divorced, separated, married but whose husband or immediate family does not reside in the same area and for 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. Working Women are entitled to hostel facilities provided their gross income does not exceed Rs. 30,000/- consolidated (gross) per month in metropolitan cities, or Rs. 25,000/- consolidated (gross) per month, in any other place. When the income of any working women already residing in a hostel exceeds the prescribed limits, she will be required to vacate the hostel within a period of two months of crossing the income limit.

 

Since its inception in 1972-73, 911 hostels have been sanctioned under the scheme all over the country benefitting about 68,196 working women.

 

During the year 2013, nine new projects have been sanctioned and an amount of  Rs. 16.08 crores has been released upto 23^rd December, 2013.

 

6.      Short Stay Homes (SSH)

The Scheme of Short Stay Home was launched by erstwhile Department of Women and Child Development (now MWCD) in 1969. This scheme was handed over for implementation to the Central Social Welfare Board during 1999-2000.  The Scheme is implemented through registered voluntary organizations having experience of handling the issues related to women and girls. The budget under scheme varies as per the categorization of cities. Enhancement of grant @ 10% for "Maintenance of inmates" every year and 15% for "Rent" provision after completion of every three years, is provided in the budget plan of the scheme. The period of stay of inmates normally extends from 6 months to 3 years.

 

Under SSH programme an amount of Rs. 2860.05 lakhs was allocated by MWCD for the year 2012-13, against which an amount of Rs.2860.05 lakhs was received. Grant of Rs. 2658.87 lakhs had been sanctioned for 306 Short Stay Homes and Rs. 2860.05 lakhs had been released.

 

7.      Family Counselling Centres

 

The Scheme of Family Counselling Centre was introduced by C.S.W.B in 1983. The centers provide counselling, referral and rehabilitative services to the women and children who are victims of atrocities, family maladjustments and social  ostracism and also provide crisis intervention and trauma counselling in case of natural disasters. The centers also create awareness and mobilize public opinion on social issues affecting status of women. The FCCs work in close collaboration with the legal administration, police, courts, free legal aids cells, medical and psychiatric institutions, vocational training centers and short stay homes.

        

During the year 2012-13, a grant of Rs.1514.08 lakhs was sanctioned and Rs.1369.09 lakh was released to support 784 FCCs benefiting 260674 beneficiaries under this scheme.

 

8.      Awareness Generation Programme

           

The Awareness Generation Project for rural & poor women is one of the major development programmes of the Central Social Welfare Board. The Scheme was reformulated in 1986-87 in order to enlarge the scope of the scheme by incorporating components leading to enhancement of socio-economic status and renamed as Awareness Generation Project.  During the year 2012-13, total numbers of 9011 camps were sanctioned and Rs.548.57 lakhs was released for benefiting 2,25,275 women.

 

9.       Condensed Courses Of Education For Adult Women

 

The Scheme of Condensed Courses of Education was initiated in the year 1958 by CSWB to cater to the needs of adult girls/women who could not join mainstream education system or who were drop outs from formal schools. The scheme aims to provide educational opportunities to girls/women above the age of 15 years along with additional inputs of skill development/vocational training.

 

During the year 2012-13, a grant of Rs.615.66 lakhs was sanctioned and Rs.350.00 lakhs was released to support 540 courses benefitting 13,500 beneficiaries under this Scheme. 

 

10.  Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme

 

With increased opportunities for employment for women and the need to supplement household income more and more women are entering the job market. With the breaking up of joint family system and the increased phenomenon of nuclear families, working women need support in terms of quality, substitute care for their young children while they are at work. Crèche and day care services are not only required by working mothers but also women belonging to poor families, who require support and relief for childcare as they struggle to cope with burden of activities, within and outside the home.

 

The present Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme provides assistance to NGOs for running crèches for infants (0-6 years) and assistance is provided to ensure sleeping facilities, health-care, supplementary nutrition, immunization etc., for running a creche for 25 infants for eight hours i.e. from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.

 

During the year 2012-13, 17893 creches were sanctioned benefiting 447325 children and a sum of Rs. 7277.07 lakhs was sanctioned and Rs. 8112.94 lakhs was released under Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme including BAJSS-Creches.

 

11.  Innovative Scheme

 

CSWB has many structured programmes and schemes for the development of women and children. But there are several problems which are not covered within the existing programmes and schemes. Hence CSWB initiated the programme of Innovative Scheme to cover the left out areas related to such groups of women and children. Several projects under this programme are being run for the welfare of prostitutes, rag-pickers and other such sections of society. Apart from above, Campaigns have been launched to create awareness against drug de-addiction, alcoholism etc. Counselling programmes for the school girls, who go in depression due to future career prospects, and consequently attempt suicide, needed special attention has been given coverage under Innovative Programme. Special programmes are also taken up in the areas affected by natural calamities like Flood, earthquake etc.

 

During the year 2012-13, a grant of Rs. 23.99 lakhs has been Sanctioned and    Rs.  11.99 lakhs have been released for 375 beneficiaries under Innovative Scheme.

 

12.  STEP

 

Ministry of Women & Child Development has been implementing the Scheme Support to Training and Employment Programme (STEP) for women to ensure sustainable employment and income generation for margininalized and asset-less rural and urban women across the country. This scheme is a Central Sector Scheme.

For the year 2013-14, a BE of Rs. 20.00 crore has been earmarked. Out of which Rs. 5.22 crore has been sanctioned so far. A total of 18087 beneficiaries have been covered under the programme this year.

 

13.  Women Empowerment and Livelihood Programme in Mid Gangetic Plain-‘PRIYADARSHINI’

             

The Ministry is administering IFAD assisted pilot project namely Women’s Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme in the Mid Gangetic Plains “Priyadarshini” in 13 blocks spread over 5 districts in Uttar Pradesh and 2 districts in Bihar. The Programme aims at holistic empowerment (economic and social) of vulnerable groups of women and adolescent girls in the project area through formation of Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) and promotion of improved livelihood opportunities. Over 1,08,000 households are to be covered under the project and 12,000 SHGs will be formed during the project period ending 2016-17. Though the focus of project is on livelihood enhancement, the beneficiaries will be empowered to address their, political, legal and health problems issues through rigorous capacity building.

           

The National Bank of Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is the lead programme agency for the implementation. The programme envisages giving training to the SHG members on topics such as income generation and allied activities, marketing of products and social issues etc.

           

During the 2010-11 financial year all preparatory activities necessary to launch field level implementation were completed and project was rolled out in the field in April 2011. During 2013-14 a total amount of Rupees 9.00crore has been released to NABARD and a total number of 11647 beneficiaries have been covered during the year (upto Nov. 2013).

 

II.               CHILD WELFARE: LEGISLATIVE AND PROGRAMMATIC MEASURES

 

A.         Legislative Measures:

 

1.                      Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012:

·         Model Guidelines under the POSCO Act, 2012 were issued by the Ministry on 18^th September, 2013 under Section 39 of the POSCO Act.  State governments are required to make guidelines for the use of professionals to assist the child in pre-trial and trial stage.  On request made by several state governments, the MWCD prepared model guidelines through consultations.

·         Five Regional conferences on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 were held from July to September, 2013 to spread awareness on the Act.  The conferences covered all States/UTs.  The participants including officers from Women Child Department, Health Department, Education Departments, SCPCRs, State Judicial Academy, Police Academy, CWC members and officers  of Prosecution Administrative Academy.

 

2.                      Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006:

·         Government of India has brought in a more progressive Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 that includes punitive measures against those who perform, permit and promote child marriage. This Act came into effect in November, 2007.As per Section 16(1) of the Act, the State Government shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint for the whole State, or such part thereof as may be specified in that Notification, an officer or officers to be known as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification. Under Section 19(1) the State Government may, by Notification in the Official Gazette, make Rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act. The Ministry of Women and Child Development has been pursuing with the State Governments for appointment of CMPOs and Notification of Rules. As per information received from States/UTs, so far, 20 States and 5 UTs have framed Rules and20 States and 6 UTs have appointed Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs).

·         As part of wider process of discussion, Ministry of Women and Child Development organized one Regional Consultation at Lucknow on 8^th July, 2013 and one National level Consultation at New Delhi on 18^th July, 2013 and discussed a Draft Plan of Action on Prevention of Child Marriage which delineate duties and responsibilities of all Stakeholders at the National, State and District level to achieve set goals/objectives. The draft Plan is under finalization.

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B.     Programmatic Measures:

 

1.       Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme

 

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme is one of the flagship programmes of the Government of India and represents one of the world’s largest and unique programmes for early childhood care and development. It is the foremost symbol of country’s commitment to its children and nursing mothers, as a response to the challenge of providing pre-school non-formal education on one hand and breaking the vicious cycle of malnutrition, morbidity, reduced learning capacity and mortality on the other.  The beneficiaries under the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers.

 

Physical Progress of ICDS Scheme is as under:

 

 

Year ending	No. of operational projects	No. of operational AWCs	No. of Supplementary nutrition beneficiaries	No. of pre-school education beneficiaries
31.03.2009	6120	1044269	873.43 lakh	340.60 lakh
31.03.2010	6509	1142029	884.34 lakh	354.93 lakh
31.03.2011	6722	1262267	959.47 lakh	366.23 lakh
31.03.2012	6908	1304611	972.49 lakh	358.22 lakh
31.03.2013	7025	1331076	927.66 lakh	346.66 lakh
30.09.2013	7066	1340001	1032.31 lakh	349.21 lakh

 

 

·                     946 new ICDS Projects and 2.96 lakh new AWCs/ mini-AWCs became operational during the last 4 years. 

·                     Number of beneficiaries [Children (6 months to 6 years) and pregnant & lactating mothers] for supplementary nutrition increased from 873.43 lakhs to 1032.31 lakh during the last 4 years.

·                     Number of beneficiaries [Children (3-6 years)] for pre-school education increased from 340.60 lakh to 349.21 lakh during the last 4 years.

·                     The total number of approved projects are 7076 and Anganwadi centres (including Mini AWCs and Anganwadi on demand) are 14.00 lakhs.  Against this, there are around 7066 operational projects and 13.40 lakh operational AWCs, as on September 2013. The services are currently availed by 1032.31 lakh beneficiaries which include 841.49 lakh children (6 months to 6 years) and 190.82 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers.

 

Financial progress of ICDS Scheme:

  Budget allocation and expenditure under ICDS Scheme is given below:

(Rs. In crore)

Year	B.E.	R.E.	Expenditure	Percentage
2009-10	6705.00	8162.00	8157.76	99.94%
2010-11	8700.00	9280.00	9763.11	105.20%
2011-12	10,000.00	14048.40	14272.21	101.59%
2012-13	15,850.00	15,850.00	15701.50	99.06 %
2013-14 (as on 20.12.2013)	17,700.00	16,312.00	14242.74	87.31%

 

Strengthening and Restructuring of ICDS approved for 12^th Five Year Plan

Over 35 years of its operation, ICDS has expanded from 33 community development blocks and 4891 AWCs to become universal through 7076 approved projects  and 14 lakh AWCs across the country with final phase of universalization approved in 2008-09. The rapid universalization, however, resulted into some programmatic, management and institutional gaps that needed redressal.

 

Acknowledging  the several gaps and challenges, Government has recently approved strengthening and restructuring of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme with a budget allocation of Rs. 1,23,580 crore during 12^th Five Year Plan. The administrative approvals  in this regard have since  been issued to the States/UTs on 22^nd October,2012.

 

It has been decided to roll out restructured and strengthened ICDS in three phases covering 200 high burden districts in the first year (2012-13) with 41 districts from Uttar Pradesh; additional 200 districts in second year (2013-14)  including districts from special category States and NER; and  in remaining districts in third year (2014-15)

The restructured ICDS will bring more detailed micro-planning and would increase accountability of states through annual programme implementation plan and by setting ICDS in mission mode.

Under the restructured ICDS Scheme:

 

·         The Anganwadi will now be the first village outpost for health, nutrition and early learning for children and mothers;

·         2 lakh Anganwdis will now get pucca buildings at cost of Rs.4.5 lakh each;

·         70,000 Anganwadis will now have facility of a crèche, this will benefit working mothers in both rural and urban areas;

·         200 high burden districts will now have an additional Anganwadi worker cum nutrition councilor.  In other districts, provision of link worker has been made;

·         Cost norms for supplementary nutrition increased from Rs. 4/- to Rs. 6/- for children (6-72 months), from Rs.6/- to Rs.9/0 for severly underweight children and from Rs.5/- to Rs.7 for pregnant and nursing mothers;

 

One National level and 5 regional level conferences has been held with States/ UTs for orientation and dissemination on restructured ICDS.

 

Other Policy initiatives and achievements

 

 

Ø  WHO Growth Chart was adopted and rolled out.

 

Ø  ICDS strengthening & restructuring approved in Mission Mode.

 

Ø  IDA-assisted ÍCDS Systems Strengthening and Nutrition Improvement Project’ (ISSNIP) formulated and Cabinet approval obtained for implementation.

 

Ø  For better planning in ICDS, Annual Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) was introduced in 2011 and scaled up in 2012 and has been made universal and essential from 2013-14.

 

Ø  Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy – The subject was given due attention.  Core Group was constituted to deliberate on various needs and policy for Early Childhood Care and Education framework.  Draft National Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) policy, Draft National Early Childhood Education Curriculum Framework and Quality Standards for ECCE prepared and under process for obtaining approval of Cabinet. (Four Regional Consultations were held.)

 

Ø  A nationwide IEC campaign designed, formulated through wider consultations.  Shri Aamir Khan, providing pro bono service; UNICEF supporting the production.  The campaign has been launched by the President of India on 19^th November, 2012 and roll out commenced from December, 2012.  More than 40 creatives rolled out in 18 languages using various media.

 

Ø  A digital resource centre as Nutrition Resource Platform (NRP) has been set up jointly by FNB and NIPCCD for nutrition and child development resource facilitation for public.  The NRP has three domains:

o   Domain I as an electronic library and document management system. 

o   Domain II for exchange of ideas and knowledge sharing as an e-forum.

o   Domain III End user Mobile telephony based services. 

§  The Web address is www.akshayaposhan@nic.in,  www.akshayposhan@gov.in  IEC tab created on NRP website to help make the campaign accessible to everyone.

 

Ø  Several Annual Nutrition events held such as The World Breastfeeding Week, National Nutrition Week, World Food Day, Global Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) Prevention Day, national level exhibitions, participation in Vatsalya Mela where 10 states participated and other exhibitions by FNB and units.

 

Ø  After wider consultation framework for multi-sectoral convergent programme to address maternal and child malnutrition in selected 200 high burden districts was conceptualized, designed and approval of Competent Authority obtained. (Four Regional Consultations were held.)

 

 

2.      Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS)

 

Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing this comprehensive Centrally Sponsored Scheme since 2009-10 through the State Government/UT Administrations on predefined cost sharing financial pattern. The objectives of the Scheme are to contribute to the improvement in the well being of children in difficult circumstances, as well as reduction of vulnerabilities to situation and actions that leads to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from parent. All the States/UTs  have signed the MOU for implementation of ICPS.

 

 ICPS provides preventive, statutory care and rehabilitation services to children who are in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law as defined under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and its Amendment Act, 2006 and any other vulnerable child. It provides financial support to State Governments/UT Administrations for running services for children either themselves or through suitable NGOs. These services include (a) Homes of various types for children; (b) Emergency Outreach services through Childline; (c) Open Shelters for children in need of care and protection in Urban and Semi Urban Areas; (d) Family Based Non-Institutional Care through Sponsorship, Foster Care and Adoptions. During the current financial year, 2013-14, Ministry assisted 1210 Homes, 234 Specialised Adoption Agencies (SAAs) and 172 Open Shelters through State Governments/UT Administrations.

 

Financial assistance under the Scheme is also provided for setting up of statutory bodies under the JJ Act namely, (a) Child Welfare Committees (CWCs) and Juvenile Justice Boards (JJBs). As reported by State Governments/UT Administrations, 619 CWCs and 608 JJBs have so far been set up across the country. Against the allocated BE of Rs.300.00 Crore for 2013-14, an amount of Rs.129.66 Crore has been sanctioned/ released in the second quarter up to September, 2013.

 

3.       Scheme for the Welfare of Working Children in Need of Care and Protection

 

The scheme is being implemented since January, 2005 with the objective of providing non-formal education, vocational training etc. To working children to facilitate their entry/re-entry into mainstream education in cases where they have either not attended any learning system or where, for some reason, their education has been discontinued, with a view to prevent their future exploitation.

 

Financial assistance is provided under this scheme to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for setting up of composite centres of working children exclusively in those areas which have not already been covered by the Ministry of Labour & Employment under their schemes, namely, National Child Labour Project and Indo-US Project. At present Ministry is assisting 116 projects of 100 children each under this scheme in 14 States/UTs.

 

4.      Sabla- ‘Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)

 

The ‘Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)–‘Sabla’, a Centrally-sponsored scheme introduced in the year 2010-11 on a pilot basis. Sabla aims at all-round development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years (with a focus on out of school girls) and is being implemented in 205 districts from all the States/UTs.

 

The scheme has two major components: Nutrition and Non Nutrition Component. While the nutrition component aims at improving the health & nutrition status of the adolescent girls the non-nutrition component addresses the developmental needs including  IFA supplementation, health check-up & referral services, nutrition & health education, ARSH counseling /guidance on family welfare, life skill education, guidance on accessing public services and vocational training (only 16-18 year old adolescent girls).

           

In 2013-14, the scheme has a budgetary outlay of Rs. 650 Crore and targets to provide nutrition to 1 crore adolescent girls. Against which a sum of Rs. 542 crore (approx.) has been released to States/UTs benefitting 94 lakh Adolescent Girls.

 

5.      Child Welfare Issues

 

o   The National Policy for Children was approved on 26^th April, 2013.

 

o   A meeting of Selection Committee under the Chairperson of MOS (I/C) WCD was held on 22.5.2013 for selection of the Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child rights (NCPCR). Mrs. Kushal Singh was selected as   the Chairperson of the   NCPCR.  

 

o   A Selection Committee Meeting for selection of awardees of Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award, 2012 and 2013 was held on 19^th August, 2013 under the chairmanship of MOS(I/C) WCD in which the  name of awardees were shortlisted.  Meeting of National Award for Child Welfare, 2012 was held on 1^st October, 2013 under the Chairmanship MOS(I/C) WCD.  Meeting of National Children Award for Exceptional Achievements, 2013 was held on 15^th October, 2013 under the Chairmanship MOS(I/C) WCD

 

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III.           NATIONAL MISSION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN (NMEW)

 

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) of National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW), Ministry of Women and Child Development, a National Resource Centre for Women (NRCW) has been set up with eight functional domains, namely, Poverty Alleviation, Social Empowerment, Health and Nutrition, Gender Budgeting, Gender Rights, Vulnerable and Marginalised Groups, Media and Communication and Information Technology. It acts as a technical secretariat that deals with various critical issues related to women and facilitates inter-sectoral convergence across different Ministries. It also provides technical support to the State Resource Centres for Women (SRCW) constituted in different States as part of the Mission.

 

·         The State Mission Authority (SMA), which is the highest policy making body at the state level for NMEW, has been constituted in 27 States and 5 UTs. The SRCWs which are fully funded by the Centre and responsible for planning, execution and monitoring of the mission’s vision and activities at the state levels, have been set up in 26 States and 4 UTs. State Action Plans have been prepared with technical support from NRCW and approved at the level of the CMs, focusing on issues like adverse child sex ratio, violence against women, trafficking, political empowerment, prevention of child marriage etc.

 

·         Women Resource Centres or Poorna Shakti Kendras (PSK) set up at District level and at Gram Panchayat level, functioning as a one stop centre for women, have been initiated by NMEW in Pali (Rajasthan), Kamrup Metropolitan (Assam),  Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya), Medak  (Andhra Pradesh), Aurangabad (Bihar), Gulbarga (Karnataka), Sabarkantha (Gujarat), Dhar (Madhya Pradesh), Daman and Diu (UT Daman and Diu), Salem (Tamil Nadu), Champai (Mizoram), Haridwar (Uttrakhand), West Singhbhum (Jharkhand), Solan (Himachal Pradesh), Kohima (Nagaland) Mewat (Haryana), West Tripura (Tripura), Kanauj (Uttar Pradesh), Purba Medinipur (West Bengal), Bundi (Rajasthan) and Chandigarh (Chandigarh).

 

·         Innovative convergence projects on issues such as Child Sex Ratio (CSR), Access to Justice, Violence against Women, behaviour change etc. in association with Partner Ministries such as Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MOPR), Ministry of Law and Justice (MOLJ), and Civil Society Organisations have been initiated. The NRCW has also anchored the process of preparation and development of the National Plan of Action (NPoA) for improving child sex ratio which included organizing a series of Consultations nationwide, facilitation & preparation for the working group meetings, preparation of agenda/presentations/reports/minutes etc. 52 Thematic Convergence Projects on issues critical to women have been approved for implementation during the current financial year. The implementing partners of these projects will be various States, UTs as well as CSOs/NGOs.

 

·         Ahimsa Messenger, a programme to combat violence against women was kicked off on 31^st August, 2013 with a large scale mobilisation of adolescent girls, has been anchored by the Mission through development of Training Modules, IEC kit, training & dissemination strategy for its operationalization on a nation-wide canvass.

 A number of Manuals, Compendium and Research Studies with a thrust on convergence of efforts towards holistic empowerment of women have also been developed and undertaken. Similarly, participatory community engagement tools have been developed, demonstrated and replicated for engaging youth, women and girls and others for advocacy and awareness raising on critical women’s issues through initiatives like Nari ki Chaupal, Beti Janmotsav etc.

 

IV.           NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC COOPERATION AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (NIPCCD)

The Training in the areas related to Women & Child Development and Child Rights & Child Protection constitute the major activities of the Institute. During the year 2013-14, the Institute organised a total of 255 (up to December 2013) training programmes which were attended by 7977 participants.  Out of these, 1146 programmes were organised on issues relating to Women and Child Development, including Child Protection and Juvenile Justice Act and 109 training programmes for the functionaries of ICDS which were attended by 4997 and 2980 participants, respectively.

 

Highlights:

·         At the behest of Government of Bhutanthe Institute’s Regional Centre, Bengaluru organised an Orientation Training on Guidance and Counselling for School Counsellors of Bhutan

 

·         Southern Regional Conference on Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 was organised by Regional Centre, Bengaluru in collaboration with Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, Chennai

 

·         Workshop on Child Rights for Chairpersons and Members of State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights was organized by Headquarters

 

·         The ninth batch of Advanced Diploma in Child Guidance and Counselling commenced from August, 2013.  The Diploma has now been affiliated with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi. Also the Rehabilitation Council of India recognized the Diploma for three academic sessions i.e. 2012-13 to 2014-15

 

·         National Consultation on Revision of ICDS Training was organized at New Delhi

 

 

·         ‘VatsalyaMela’ was organised by Headquarters from14-29 November, 2013 at Delhi Haat, Pitampura and 14-30 November, 2013 at INA, New Delhi. This year themes were The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, Ahimsa Messenger, Declining Sex Ratio.

 

·         Research: The Headquarters and its Regional Centres undertake research on areas falling within its mandate. Evaluation studies are conducted to assess the impact of ongoing schemes or projects on Women and Child Development, as an independent initiative, or at the request of sponsoring Department/agency.  Documentation of the research work in the form of reports, compilations and manuals is done for wider dissemination. Twenty such projects & research studies are nearing completion during the year.

 

 

V.               GENDER BUDGETING INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

           

Gender Budgeting (GB) was adopted by the Government of India in 2005 which entails maintaining a gender perspective at all stages of formulation of policies, schemes, programmes, implementation, monitoring, review and impact analysis. GB is a process to help translate Government’s policy commitments on women’s empowerment into budgetary allocations. Gender budgeting is being used as a tool for gender mainstreaming and ensuring gender equity across the States.

 

Institutionalizing Gender Budgeting:

Over the years, the number of Ministries/Departments reporting in the GB Statement has gone up from 9 (2005-06) to 30 (2013-14). Also the magnitude of GB allocations as a percentage of total budget has gone up from 2.79 percent in 2005-06 to 5.83 per cent in 2013-14.

 

 Strengthening Capacities on Gender Budgeting:

 While the Ministry of Finance has been instrumental in institutionalizing the GB process in central Ministries/ Departments, the MWCD as the nodal agency for women, has been supporting the process.  One of the key focus areas of the MWCD has been advocating for setting up of GBCs in all Ministries/Departments; strengthening internal and external capacities and building expertise of GBCs to undertake gender mainstreaming of policies/schemes/ programmes. For this, the MWCD has been engaged in conducting a number of trainings, workshops, one to one interactions/discussions and development of resource material. 

 In 2013-14, till end November 2013, MWCD had organized 16 trainings/workshops for Central and State Government officers and other stakeholders. The various training programmes at State level covered the Officers of the Department of Rural Development, Finance, Women and Child Development and Police Department. This Ministry has also been providing technical support on Gender Budgeting to other organizations during their training programmes.

 

 Achievements in Gender Budgeting:

 

• Draft Gender Audit Guidelines formulated – In order to take forward the process of Gender Budgeting and as part fulfillment of the 12^th Five Year Plan commitments, the Ministry has formulated draft Gender Audit Guidelines for undertaking gender audit of major programmes, schemes and policies of Government of India. The same has been sent to the Planning Commission and is under consideration of the Planning Commission for finalisation.

 

• Pilot Test of the draft Gender Audit guideline – The Ministry has undertaken the first gender audit of the Dairy Entrepreneurship Development Scheme (DEDS) of the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF), Ministry of Agriculture. The aim of the audit is to test the Gender Audit guideline and to identify critical gaps and challenges in mainstreaming gender within the DEDS and come out with recommendations for mainstreaming gender. The scheme has been chosen in consultation with the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries (DAHDF), Ministry of Agriculture. The pilot study has also been sent to the Planning Commission.

 

• Evaluation of GB Scheme – As a mandatory requirement for continuation of the GB scheme, the scheme has been evaluated by an empanelled external agency, NABCONS and the evaluation report has been uploaded in the Ministry’s website. Action points on the basis of the recommendations of the evaluation report have been formulated for strengthening of Gender Budgeting processes.

 

• Collaboration with Gender neutral Ministries like the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of IT, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation for engendering their schemes and programmes for better planning and resource prioritization. 

 

VI.             EVENTS:

·         National Girl Child Day, 2013:Download the original attachmentIf there are images in this attachment, they will not be displayed.  Download the original attachment The National Girl Child Day, 2013 was celebrated on 24^th January, 2013 in New Delhi.  The function was presided over by MoS (I/C) Smt. Krishna Tirath. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India delivered key note address and interacted with school children.  The function was attended by representatives of various Ministries / Departments.  International Organisations, NGOs and a large number of school children.  On the occasion, paintings made by the children were displayed and a ‘Nutrition Calendar’ of Food and Nutrition Board of the Ministry was released.  Winners of slogan competition were facilitated on the occasion.   

 

·         International Women’s Day, 2013: The International Women’s Day was celebrated on 08^th March, 2013. Stree Shakti Puraskar was distributed by the President of India on that day.

 

·         Fifth IBSA Women’s Forum: Ministry of Women & Child Development held three days consultation / meeting of IBSA Women’s Forum from 14^th -16^th May, 2013 in New Delhi. The Ministers of WCD from Brazil and South Africa attended the meeting. Besides them, experts on Women Issues and Civil Society Organizations also participated in the meeting.

 

 

·         The Second HLM Meeting (HLM) on South-South Cooperation for Child Rights in Asia and the Pacific was held in New Delhi from 23^rd to 25^th October, 2013 hosted by Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.  The second HLM brought together more than 150 delegates from 32 countries in Asia and the Pacific, regional organizations and UNICEF to discuss and share the progress, experience, problems and challenges in the survival, protection , development and  rights of the nearly 1.2 million children  in the region.

 

·         National Child Award Function was organised by WCD Ministry in Delhi Haat, INA, New Delhi on 14^th and 19^th November, 2013 along with Vatsalaya Mela.  MOS(I/C) WCD given awards to the awardees of National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement, 2013 , National Award for Child Welfare, 2012 and Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award for year 2012 and 2013.

 

                            

VII.          International presence

Delegations led by Smt Krishna Tirath, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Women & Child Development for participated / visited in the following events / countries:

 

i.          Attended the 57^th Annual Session of the UN Commission on the status of Women (CSW) held on 4-8 March, 2013 in New York.

 

ii.         Visited Trinidad & Tobago & El Selvador from 29^th May, 2013 to 03^rd June, 2013 to meet Stakeholders connected with children, youth and women affairs for experience sharing.

 

iii.Visited Dhaka, Bangladesh from 17-19 June, 2013 for attending the Tenth Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting.

 

iv.Visited Seoul, Republic of Korea for participation in the Event of Asia Pacific Regional Policy Forum on ‘Early Childhood Care and Education Are Children ready to learn? Are schools ready for children’ held on 10-12 September, 2013.

 

v.Visited Manila, Philippines for participation in the Launch of Asian Development Bank report on India Gender Equality Diagnostic of Selected Sectors held on 27^th September, 2013.

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MV/GM