core sector communique

Sh. Jairam Ramesh Announces Grant of Rs. 990 Cr for Ministry of Women and Child Development

Sh. Jairam Ramesh, Minister for Rural Development today announced a grant of Rs. 990 cr to the Ministry of Women and Child Development for the appointment of women ‘Gram Samanvayak’ officers in Gram Panchayats across the country. He announced that 1% of the budget of the Ministry of Rural Development will go towards the appointment of ‘Mahila Gram Samanvayaks’. The Rural development Minister was speaking at the first thematic convergence of pilots of the National Mission for Women, under the Ministry of Women and Child Development, launched here today. The function was presided over by the Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Krishna Tirath. Also present during the function was the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri V Kishore Chandra Deo. Speaking at the occasion, Smt. Krishna Tirath said that the National Mission of Women is like an umbrella, or a platform, for the convergence of programmes and schemes aimed at the socio-economic development of women, that are currently under different Ministries and departments. The National Women’s Mission began a unique initiative in 2011, a new model of ‘convergence centres’ for women, called ‘Poorna Shakti Kendras’ dedicated to helping women access the range of benefits made available to them through various government programmes, in select districts of the country. Young women from NMEW’s ‘Poorna Shakti Kendra’ at Pali that was set up an year ago as a pilot spoke about their experiences, along with the ‘Mahila Gram Samanvayak’ or Village coordinator. The event today marked the convergence between NMEW of the M/o WCD and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and the launch of ‘Thematic Convergence’ pilot projects to address the grave issue of Declining Child Sex Ratio by working through the Panchayats. These pilots will be implemented in collaboration with partners like the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, the Ministry of Law and Justice, Municipal Corporations of two districts in Karnataka and Jammu & Kashmir, M S Swaminathan Foundation, Breakthrough, Centre for Advocacy and Research and Mahila Samakhya.