TEAM STEAM

E Sravya Sudha – 5th year (M. Tech in Civil Engineering)

Aloy Buragohain – 3rd year (M. A. in Development Studies)

Aparajitha K – 3rd year (M. A. in Development Studies)

Kevin Fernandes– 3rd year (M. A. in English Studies)

G Ashish Raja– 3rd year (B. Tech in Electrical Engineering)

A WOMAN’S PREDICAMENT

Socioeconomic deprivation of women from resources due to:

1. Her lack of awareness regarding her entitlement to choices.

2. Historical reasons (such as traditional patriarchy, colonial subjugation).

3. Social stigmatization and stereotyping.

Absence of a broad egalitarian base among women for a revolution from to start from below.

Lack of self-consciousness and self-confidence among women because they internalize the external factors of oppression.

Some relevant Statistical Figures:

1. 26.6% (2010) – Females over 25 with Secondary Education.

2. 29.0% (2011)- Women in Labor force.

3. Global Gender Gap Index -2012 – India ranks 105/135 while in the Gender Inequality Index Rank it ranks 132/148.

4. 1992-1993 figures, indicate that only 9.2 % of the households in India were headed by Females and approximately 35% of the households BPL were headed by females.

5. According to UNICEF’s “State of the World’s Children-2009” report, 47% of India's women aged 20–24 were married before the legal age of 18, rising to 56% in rural areas. The report also showed that 40% of the world's child marriages occur in India.

Why is it necessary to empower women in India?

MAJOR ISSUES Skills and Training Protection and Rights

Education Program Avoid Trafficking and Child

Labor

Job Opportunities Child Marriages

Lack of Training Facilities Domestic Violence

Inadequate infrastructure facilities Atrocities

Equal rights to Property

Financial Issues

Inclusion in Decision making process

Exclusion from financial credit facilities

Abortion and Girl Child Rights

Dowry Health and Sanitation

No capital for Self employment Inefficient Sanitation facilities

Unorganized sector- Improper wage scale

Insufficient nutrition requirements

Hypothesis

Structural changes in the welfare sector, with the objective of promoting education, shall effect a rise in other social and economic indices such as employment among women, minimum age of marriage, level of awareness regarding rights, and shall reduce the incidence of social, psychological and physical violence against women.

Source: BLOOMBERG

THREE DIMENSIONAL ETHICAL FRAMEWORK

Socio-economic Empowerment

Dissolution of Class-Boundaries

Individual Self-Consciousness

• Awareness of rights and entitlements.

• Patriarchy shall gradually be eliminated along with the colonial psyche of violence.

• Job-oriented education to promote employability

• Lower income groups are targeted because with education and employment, they shall be able to move up the ladder and class differences shall dissolve gradually.

• Consequently, women shall unite across classes towards a feminist movement.

• Self-sufficiency shall be established.

• She shall attain a position and space in the society

• Year of implementation : 2015

• Eligibility : Girls born into the BPL section. [Exception : In the year 2015, all girls from BPL background from 0-6 years of age shall be eligible].

• Funds : From a special Central –State Governments combined fund for this scheme.

– Centre – State funding to be proportionate to the a mathematical function of the literacy rate and per capita GDP of the concerned state [The percentage of the total budget to be contributed by the state shall be Directly proportional to the GDP and Inversely Proportional to the Female Literacy Rate of the state].

• Scheme : Rs. 15,000 is deposited (fixed) in the girl child’s name (in an account created by the Government of India, which shall be later integrated with her AADHAR account) at R.B.I.-prescribed interest rate prevalent in the year of birth in a nationalised bank, to be withdrawn at the time mentioned in the following slide. (Here, withdrawal implies direct transfer of the amount sought by the beneficiary to the bank account of the educational institution she would be granted admission into) .

• Conditions to be fulfilled in order to avail of this scheme :

1. Birth should be officially registered.

2. The beneficiary should be a citizen of India (relevant document supporting this claim should be produced at the time of release of maturity amount).

3. She should be enrolled in a Govt. recognised school.

4. She cannot marry until she has reached the age of 18 years.

5. She must be one of the first two female children in the family.

MALALA MAHILA SASHAKTIKARAN YOJANA (MMSY)

WORKING OF MMSY

• The Scheme works in two parts :

1. 00-18 years – Fixed Deposit Interest Rate (Part I)

2. 19-35 years – Normal Saving Bank Interest Rate (PartII)

3. Part I - Rs. 15,000 for 18 years @ 8.75% FD rate = Rs. 71,241.16

4. Part II – Rs. 71,241.16 for 17 years @ 4.00% SB rate = Rs. 1, 40,141.19

• Technicalities associated with Withdrawal :

1. Between the ages of 14-18 years, the beneficiary has to withdraw some amount (preferably 10% of the maturity amount) from this scheme to prove that she is studying. However, proof of elementary education should be produced and verified by concerned authorities.

2. If in any case the beneficiary doesn’t withdraw the said amount, the total amount is forfeited and the forfeited amount is deposited back into the Malala Mahila Sashaktikaran Yojana (MMSY) fund.

3. The amount may be used only and only for the purpose of education (including vocational training).

FUNDING OF THE SCHEME

Let,

GDP (per capita) of State X be ‘a’

Literacy Rate of State X be ‘l%’

Scheme budget for state X be k

k α P *where P = total number of female children added in the given year to Below Poverty Line (BPL) households]

If for state X, Centre’s contribution is ‘s’, then the state’s contribution would be (k-s)

(k-s) α a *ceteris paribus]

(k-s) α 1/l *ceteris paribus]

ROUGH ESTIMATION OF BUDGET

n = Total no. of female children born in that year

p = % of population living below poverty line

No. of female children born in that year in BPL households = n*p

Let,

Total Budget required for implementation of the scheme annually be B (in Rupees)

So,

Rs. 15000 is the initial money deposited

B = n*p*15000 + A [where A = Administrative costs]

SIGNIFICANCE OF OUR SOLUTION (BASED ON THE THREE

DIMENSIONAL ETHICAL FRAMEWORK)

• Empowering women through education

• An incentive to improve enrollment ratio in primary school

• Targeting equality of women through ensuring continuity in knowledge and skill development

• Trained human power to enhance growth and development of the economy

• Financial security reduces women being the dependent part of the society

• The provisions of the scheme prevents money being used for perpetuating regressive social practices like dowry

• Enabling women to understand how she is being perceived by the society

• Education will automatically, in the long term, enable women to access financial institutions such as banks leading to their economic empowerment

SOCIAL LEVEL

• Promoting equality among the women of different classes through education

• Breaking the inter-generational poverty cycle by targeting women in the economically backward sector and controlling population growth (since only two girl children of the family are taken into consideration)

• Enhancing population control because the fertility rate of literate women is 2.4 and that of the illiterate women is 4 (according to 2011 Census)

• Since the government itself opens a bank account (which shall remain throughout her life) for every girl child at her birth, this scheme enables women in the backward sector to have the awareness and opportunity to utilize the services of banking sector like their middle class counterpart

CLASS LEVEL

• Education helps women to comprehend what she is being subjected to as a human being

• She understands the illusionary nature of the choices she is forced to take

• Women should learn to think inward about her self, dignity, physical and mental well being

• Women empowerment brings forth self consciousness and self confidence

• Since the scheme gives the sole authority to women, she gets a sense of social and economic responsibility

• Thus, this scheme is aimed at the overall upliftment of women through self realization and awareness of her position as an individual in the patriarchal society of India

INDIVIDUAL LEVEL

IMPLEMENENTATION STRUCTURES

CENTRAL GOVT.

• Cabinet Council under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister

• Ministers and Secretaries of all relevant Departments.

• Women & Child Welfare Department is the Nodal Authority

STATE GOVT.

• State Council under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister

• Ministers and Secretaries of all relevant Departments.

• Women & Child Welfare Department is the Nodal Authority

LOCAL GOVT.

• District Collectorate Office

• Locating the eligible benefactors.

• Administrative complications.

• Managing the bank accounts and the incrementing money.

• Communication gaps between the government and the benefactor.

• Difficulties for women to approach the bank – relation and communication between the bank and benefactor.

• Rigid Patriarchal mindset prevalent in the society.

• Advantage taken of the parent’s illiteracy and poor documentation of the child’s progress.

CHALLENGES

• Utilization of the AADHAR card to directly reach the eligible benefactors and the birth certificate.

• Awareness programs about scheme and role of NGO's and Anganwadis in this promoting this scheme.

• Employ economically backward women who are literate to effectively manage the documentation process and locating the eligible benefactors and also maintain records of the incremented amounts of the benefactors under her, that is the use of “Reverse Administration” - instead of the govt being approached by the benefactors for the schemes, the govt approaches the benefactors to implement schemes effectively by utilising the services of the economically backward women and at the same time creating employment.

• Transparency in the Government processing of this scheme.

SOLUTIONS

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHY • www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper1_india.html

• www.censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/prov_results_paper2_india.html

• www.filipspagnoli.wordpress.com/stats-on-human-rights/statistics-on-poverty/statistics-on-poverty-in-india/#2

• www.data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DYN.CHLD.FE

• www.in.reuters.com/subjects/india-budget-2013

• www.dwcdkar.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108%3Achild-tracking-system-banangaladattha-bale&catid=104%3Achild-welfare&Itemid=118&lang=en

• www.zwrcn.org.zw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54&Itemid=64

• www.gssp.newamerica.net/program-goals/human-capital-and-breaking-intergenerational-poverty-cycle

• www.tradingeconomics.com/india/population-growth-annual-percent-wb-data.html

• Government of Gujarat (2010). Welfare Schemes for Other Backward Classes, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ahmedabad.

• Government of India (2011). Selected Socio-Economic Statistics India, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Central Statistics Office, New Delhi.

• Shekher , T. V. Special Financial Incentives Schemes for the Girl Child in India: A Review of Select Schemes, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai.

• Government of India (2011). Family Welfare Statistics in India, Statistics Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi.