Employment & Welfare Schemes (Part – II)

For women empowerment, Ministry of Minority Affairs started 'Nai Roshni', a Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women in 2012-13. The objective of the scheme is to empower and instill confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing them knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels.

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is the National mission for financial inclusion to ensure access to financial services. It was announced on 15th August, 2014 and launched on 28 August, 2014.

Swavalamban, the Co-contributory Pension Scheme by the Department of Financial Services aimed to encourage people from the unorganized sectors to voluntarily save for their retirement and to lower the cost of operations of the New Pension System (NPS) for such subscribers. This scheme was started on 26 September, 2010. This scheme has been replaced by the new 'Atal Pension Yojana' launched in May, 2015.

The DISHA (Digital Saksharta Abhiyan) or National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) Scheme has been formulated to 6 impart IT training to 52.5 lakh persons, including Anganwadi, ASHA workers and authorized ration dealers in all the States/ UTs across the country.

Note: Another Disha scheme aims at setting up Disha Centres for early intervention for Persons with Disability in 0-10 years of age covered under the National Trust Act, through therapies, trainings and providing support to family members.

With the tagline 'Swachh Indhan Behtar Jeevan', Union Government has launched a social welfare scheme "Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana" (PMUY) on 1st May, 2016, from Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. Salient launching features of the scheme :

(i) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs. 8000 crore for the period of 3 years (2016- 2019). 2100

(ii) PMUY will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL families, with financial support of Rs. 1600 per connection.

(iii) Connection will be issued on the name of women beneficiaries.

(iv) It is complimentary to prime minister's 'Give it up campaign under which many middle class and lower middle class households have voluntarily given up their LPG subsidy.

The target under the scheme was further extended to release 8 crore LPG connections to the deprived households by March, 2020. On 7 September, 2019, Prime Minister handed over the 8th crore LPG connection in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Under the Union Budget 2021-22, provision for release of additional 1 crore LPG connections under the PMUY scheme has been made. Subsequently, Ujjwala 20 was launched on 10th August, 2021 from Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh. Under the revised scheme, beneficiaries are given deposit free connections along with free first refill and stove. In January 2022, the scheme was further extended to release additional 60 lakh LPG connections on existing modalities. Again in September 2023, provision for 75 lakh additional Ujjwala Connections has been approved that will take total number of PMUY beneficiary to 10.35 crore. On 30 December, 2023 Prime Minister visited home of Mera Manjhi (10th crore beneficiary of PMUY) at Ayodhya. As on 11 June, 2024, over 10.3 crore PMUY connection have been released The maximum connections were released in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Bihar. As on 11 June, 2024, over 2.3 crore connections have been released under Ujjwala 2.0.

With the tagline 'Swachh Indhan Behtar Jeevan', Union Government has launched a social welfare scheme "Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana" (PMUY) on 1st May, 2016, from Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an objective to make clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc. Salient launching features of the scheme :

(i) Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved Rs. 8000 crore for the period of 3 years (2016- 2019). 2100

(ii) PMUY will provide 5 crore LPG connections to BPL families, with financial support of Rs. 1600 per connection.

(iii) Connection will be issued on the name of women beneficiaries.

(iv) It is complimentary to prime minister's 'Give it up campaign under which many middle class and lower middle class households have voluntarily given up their LPG subsidy.

The target under the scheme was further extended to release 8 crore LPG connections to the deprived households by March, 2020. On 7 September, 2019, Prime Minister handed over the 8th crore LPG connection in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Under the Union Budget 2021-22, provision for release of additional 1 crore LPG connections under the PMUY scheme has been made. Subsequently, Ujjwala 20 was launched on 10th August, 2021 from Mahoba district in Uttar Pradesh. Under the revised scheme, beneficiaries are given deposit free connections along with free first refill and stove. In January 2022, the scheme was further extended to release additional 60 lakh LPG connections on existing modalities. Again in September 2023, provision for 75 lakh additional Ujjwala Connections has been approved that will take total number of PMUY beneficiary to 10.35 crore. On 30 December, 2023 Prime Minister visited home of Mera Manjhi (10th crore beneficiary of PMUY) at Ayodhya. As on 11 June, 2024, over 10.3 crore PMUY connection have been released The maximum connections were released in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Bihar. As on 11 June, 2024, over 2.3 crore connections have been released under Ujjwala 2.0.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is giving financial support for Madhya Pradesh's 'Tejaswini Rural Women's Empowerment Programme'. This programme ensures that poor rural women have a wider range of opportunities and support and strengthens women's self help groups and provides access to financial services.

Panch Dhara Yojana was started by the Madhya Pradesh Government in November, 1991. It aims for the development of rural and tribal women of Madhya Pradesh

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' (BBBP) scheme was announced by Prime Minister on 22 January, 2015 in Panipat, Haryana. BBBP addresses the declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and related issues of women empowerment. It is triministrial effort of ministries of Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare and Human Resource Development (Now Ministry of Education),

The scheme aims to generate awareness about declining trend of Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) in India. In India Child Sex Ratio was 927 girls per 1000 boys in 2001 which declined to 918 girls for every 1000 boys in 2011 census.

Sex-selective abortion or Female Foeticide is main cause behind declining trend of CSR which led to 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign.

Initially it was focused on multi-sector action in 100 districts throughout the country where there was low CSR. Now, this campaign is operationalized in whole India.

Dhan-Lakshmi Yojana was started on 3rd March, 2008 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. The scheme aimed at doing away with child marriage by offering parents an attractive insurance cover, and encouraging parents to educate their children as well as covering certain medical expenses for girl child. The aim of the scheme was to value the life of a girl child and not treat them as liability.

Maharashtra Government on 8 March, 2015, launched 'Bhagyashree Scheme' for girls belonging to the families living below poverty line (BPL). It replaced the already running 'Sukanya' scheme in the State.

Rupashree Prakalpa' scheme is a initiative of West Bengal. State Government that provides a one-time financial grant of Rs. 25,000 for economically stressed families at the time of their adult daughters' marriages. This scheme is in effect from 1 April, 2018.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24th February, 2018 launched the Tamil Nadu Government's Amma Scooter Scheme in Chennai to commemorate the 70th birth anniversary of late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. Under the scheme, the State Government offered 50 percent subsidy (up to Rs. 25,000) for the working women of Tamil Nadu to buy two-wheelers. This scheme was not limited to Chennai but covers whole of Tamil Nadu. Thus, statement 1, 3 and 4 are incorrect while only statement 2 is correct. This scheme was scrapped in 2021.