Additional one-stop centres in districts with high crime rate against women: Smriti Irani

The OSCs are intended to support women affected by violence in private and public spaces, within the family or at the workplace. It is a 100 per cent centrally-sponsored initiative.

Addressing a zonal conference organised by Union Ministry of Women and Child Development here, Irani said the 704 OSCs functional in the country as well as a women helpline have extended support to more than 70 lakh women.

“It is now the resolution of the Centre that additional OSCs will be opened in the districts where the crime rate against women is high and we request your (states’) support to open these 300 new centres,” she said. Irani said her ministry, in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs, will try to provide a similar facility in 10 other countries for the Indian women working there.

The conference was among series of such events being held sensitise the states and Union territories on her ministry’s three umbrella missions — Poshan, Shakti and Vatsalya — to facilitate a proper implementation of the schemes over the next five years in the true spirit of co-operative federalism to ensure that the transformational social changes envisaged under these initiatives are accomplished for the benefit of women and children.

Irani said the Centre was planning to take Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) to another level by offering financial support to the women whose second baby was a girl. Under the PMMVY, a cash incentive of Rs 5000 is transferred into the account of pregnant women and lactating mothers for first living child of the family. The scheme is aimed at addressing the problem of malnutrition.

Replying to a question, the Union minister said the Centre has raised the honorarium for anganwadi workers by up to Rs 4,500.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Irani said the “Poshan tracker”, with its large sample size, helps improve the quality of the assessment and is an effective tool in monitoring the women and child development schemes. During the session, she requested the stakeholders to use the “Mission Shakti” implementation guidelines in their assessment.

Stating that women and child development is an important pillar in the governance structure, the Union minister said coordination among departments is vital in the implementation of the schemes by the ministry.

Meanwhile, Punjab’s Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Baljit Kaur said a proper implementation of centrally-sponsored programmes is a must to achieve the target of empowering the country’s women and children.

Speaking on the occasion, she said women and children need equal opportunities in every sector and education can play a vanguard role in empowering them. She said violence and injustices are the core concern areas that create hindrances when it comes to holistic development.

Kaur said the central policies should be designed to remove all the social barriers that create obstacles for the overall development of women and children.

The representatives from the departments of women and child development from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Union territories of Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Delhi, and other organisations expressed their views on various schemes during the consultation session.

The Union Ministry for Women and Child Development will also hold zonal conferences in Bengaluru (April 4), Guwahati (April 10), Mumbai (April 12) and Bhubaneswar (April 13).