The Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Mrs. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi chairing the meeting of the Consultative Committee of Parliament on “Skill Training for Women”, in New Delhi on April 28, 2015. The Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Mr. V.S. Oberoi is also seen.
Skill Development For Women
New Delhi (PIB-GR-TYP-BIN): The Union Minister of Women and Child Development Mrs. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said that skill development plays an important role in enhancing economic opportunities for women, leading to their empowerment.
The Meeting of Consultative Committee of Parliament attached to the Ministry of Women and Child Development was held under the chairpersonship of the Union Minister of WCD, Mrs. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi on April 28. The issue before the committee was “Skill Training for Women”. Various aspects related to skill development, employment generation and empowerment of women were discussed during the meeting.
The Minister asked the Members of Parliament to identify, and suggest names of genuine NGOs doing good work on the ground and Government should assist them in their task of skill development of women. ‘We will try our best to ensure India’s money goes to the best’, she added.
She also said that the training should not only be restricted to the few areas like sewing, stitching and embroidery but should also include various diverse activities like making food items, rope making and knitting which are in demand and can generate easy economic opportunities for women.
The Minister said that the NGOs and other organizations applying for these schemes should be checked for duplication since sometimes various Ministries end up funding NGOs for the similar purpose. She said that the STEP Scheme will be restarted later this year and the proposals of projects will be uploaded on internet and if the proposals are rejected, the reasons thereof will also be shown.
During the meeting, the MPs also raised their concerns regarding the lack of awareness among the rural women regarding their rights, legal aspects, marketing, and selling of products etc. Responding to these issues , the Minister said that the awareness can be spread among women through specific content driven programmes on the radio. The content can be translated into various languages as per requirement, she added.
Introducing the skill development programmes of the Ministry; Secretary, Mr. Vinay Sheel Oberoi said that the Ministry has two major schemes in this area, Support to Training and Employment Programme (STEP) and Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK).
Explaining the schemes to the members, Mr. I. S. Chahal, Joint Secretary said that STEP guidelines were revised in December, 2014 to make the scheme more effective. Till date, 341 projects have been sanctioned under the scheme. The total funds released are Rs. 354.47 crores and a total of 9,19,019 beneficiaries have benefited from the programme since its inception..
(Source: PIB/GR/TYP/BIN/USPA/WN)