by Bhupen Goswami 

Guwahati :      Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smt Smriti Irani chaired the Zonal Conference of State Governments and Stakeholders of North-East region at Guwahati today. Participants from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Nagaland attended the conference. The Minister in her address highlighted the details of Poshan Abhiyan and other initiatives of the Ministry. She said that all the Anganwadis and one stop centres across the North East region will receive active support to ensure that geographical and logistical challenges are met expeditiously by government of India interventions. She said that improving nutrition value among women and children has transformed into Jan Andolan today. Praising the efforts of the stakeholders for their contribution the minister said that addressing the issues of female health and nutrition of children has been possible because of their cooperation and support. Talking about One-stop center’s she said that the one stop crisis center saw a collaborated effort where various branches of government came together to ensure that police, psycho- social counsellor, legal counsellor and all get together under one roof.

In collaboration with women helplines across the country in the past 3 years, 70 lakh women have received support from government in the state and the centre, she informed. The minister also informed that 300 more such centres will be opened. Talking about other initiatives by government Smt Irani said that there are around 25 crore women benefiting from Jan-Dhan Yojana who have a bank account for the first time in their life. 68 per cent of beneficiaries of Mudra Yojana are women and 80 per cent of the beneficiaries of Stand-Up India are women, Smt Irani said. Minister of State for Women and Child Development Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai Kalubhai in his address highlighted the three major umbrella schemes by the Ministry of Women and Child Development Mission POSHAN, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya. Talking about the Zonal conferences held in different states of the country he said that this government is focusing on empowerment of women through various schemes and the objective of these Zonal Conferences is to sensitise State Governments/UT Administrations on the 3 Umbrella Missions of the Ministry to facilitate proper implementation of the Schemes over the next 5 years. Finance and Social Welfare Minister, Govt of Assam Smt Ajanta Neog was also present in today’s event. Smt Neog in her speech highlighted the initiatives taken by the State government for the welfare of children and women. Government of Assam is committed to all-round development of women and children in the State, she said. Empowerment and protection of women and children who constitute 67.7% of India’s population and ensuring their wholesome development in a safe and secure environment is crucial for sustainable and equitable development of the country and for achieving transformational economic and social changes. 

To achieve this objective, Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has recently approved 3 important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya. These 3 Missions will be implemented during the 15 th Finance Commission period, 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Schemes under the Umbrella Missions are Centrally Sponsored Schemes which are implemented by the State Governments/UT Administrations on cost-sharing basis as per cost sharing norms. Scheme Guidelines are being shared with the States/UTs. The prime objective of the Ministry of Women and Child Development is to address the gaps in State action for women and children and to promote inter-ministerial and inter-sectoral convergence to create gender equitable and child centred legislation, policies and programmes and to provide women and children with an environment which is accessible, affordable, reliable and free from all forms of discrimination and violence. In this direction, the objectives under the schemes of the Ministry are sought to be achieved with the support of State Governments and UT Administrations which are responsible for the administration of the schemes on the ground.