Union Minister Smriti Irani pledges to support schemes for women & children

Zonal conference of NE States held in city

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Irani chaired the Zonal Conference of State Governments and stakeholders of the North-East region in the city on Sunday.

Apart from Assam, participants from Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Nagaland attended the conference.

Addressing the participants, Irani 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 through Central interventions.

She said that improving nutrition value among women and children has transformed into a Jan Andolan now. 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 centres, Irani said that a one-stop crisis centre sees a collaborative effort where various branches of the Government come together to ensure that the police, psycho-social counselors, legal counselors all get together under one roof. In collaboration with women helplines across the country in the past three years, 70 lakh women have received support from the Government in the States and the Centre, she informed. The Minister also informed that 300 more such centres will be opened.

Talking about other initiatives taken by the Government, Irani said that there are around 25 crore women benefiting from Jan-DhanYojana, who have a bank account for the first time in their lives. A total of 68 per cent of beneficiaries of the Mudra Yojana are women and 80 per cent of the beneficiaries of Stand-Up India are also women, she said.

Minister of State for Women and Child Development 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 the Government is focusing on empowerment of women through various schemes and the objective of these zonal conferences is to sensitize State Governments/UT Administrations on the three Umbrella Missions of the Ministry to facilitate proper implementation of the Schemes over the next five years.

Assam's Finance and Social Welfare Minister Ajanta Neog was also present at the conference. In her speech, Neog highlighted the initiatives taken by the State Government for the welfare of children and women. The 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, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently approved three important Umbrella Schemes of the Ministry to be implemented in mission mode, viz., Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya. These three Missions will be implemented during the 15th 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.

Also Read:  Union Minister Smriti Irani to chair conference of NE States today in Guwahati

Also Watch: