The government is determined to support woman affected by violence and has since April 2015 set up more than two hundred and thirty-two One Stop Centres (OSCs) proposed under the Nirbhaya Fund. Now the government intends to set them up such centres in all districts of the country, reports Hindustan Times.
OSCs facilitate services like police assistance, psycho-social counselling and provide temporary stay for five days for violence-hit women. Establishing these centres were the most important project undertaken under the Nirbhaya fund.
A senior official and the Ministry of Woman and Child Development said that the government is trying to ensure that they set up OSCs in all 718 districts in the country. As of now, 232 centres have been established and 536 are approved to be set up.
With an objective to implement the women-centric central government schemes, the National Commission of Women (NCW), which has been conducting nation-wide surveys, reiterated that the OSC scheme has been found to be performing well in all the states which have been audited till now. “We have completed our survey in three states – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar. We plan to cover all the states within a year. We have found OSCs have been established in all three,” Rekha Sharma, chief, NCW, said.
Modi Government, recognising women issues and its contribution to the country’s economy, have come up with several initiatives contributing to women empowerment. Few such schemes being:
- Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: Launched on 22nd January 2015, is a social campaign aimed at eradication of female foeticide and raising awareness on welfare services intended for young Indian girls.
- Working Women Hostels: The objective of the scheme is to promote the availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women.
- Swadhar Greh: The scheme was launched by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development for rehabilitation of women in difficult circumstances. The scheme provides shelter, food, clothing and care to the marginalized women/girls who are in need.
- STEP: The Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP) Scheme aims to provide skills that give employability to women and to provide competencies and skill that enable women to become self-employed/ entrepreneurs.
- Mahila E-haat: It is a direct online marketing platform launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to support women entrepreneurs, Self Helf Groups (SHGs) and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to showcase products made and services rendered by them. This is a part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative.
- The Ujjwala Yojana: This has been one of the most successful programs of Modi government. The scheme has brought a major change in the quality of life of women and poor in the country. The scheme has reached 8 crore homes as of February 1, 2018.
