A proposal to link the corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding by the private companies for education with the promotion of entrepreneurship among women is being considered in Rajasthan. The focus will be on developing entrepreneurial skills among young women in the rural areas to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The all-women ‘Nirbhaya Squad’ of Jaipur police has expressed willingness to join a consortium of organisations to impart skills training to women at the grassroots. The Squad’s nodal officer Sunita Meena said here on Wednesday that the CSR funding for education could be utilised for developing skills among young women in the villages and small towns to create livelihood opportunities for them.
“Digital skills training is the need of the hour for women, who should be encouraged to take up productive work and join the community efforts in the fields of healthcare, sanitation and hygiene,” Ms. Meena said.
New avenues
The CSR educational programmes should enable the women entrepreneurs to find new avenues through networking and diversification of work, she said.
The bike-borne Nirbhaya Squad was formed in 2019 with women constables trained in martial arts, who are deployed at schools, colleges, malls and bus stops to extend protection to women. The Squad took out flag marches during the pandemic and distributed sanitary pads free of cost in the containment zones in Jaipur.
Ms. Meena joined other experts at a virtual event here to recommend adopting new strategies to integrate skills and values with the career decision making process for women. Udaipur-based Narayan Seva Sansthan’s president Prashant Agarwal said the CSR education sector could increase the availability of trained professionals through innovative programmes.
Goutam Sadhu, professor at School of Development Studies, Indian Institute of Health Management ResearchUniversity, said the corporates had geared up to meet the requirements of the CSR regime introduced in the Companies Act, 2013.
The maximum work under the CSR had covered the domains of education, skill development, poverty alleviation and health care, he said.
