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Why in the news?

The Ministry of Rural Development recently organized the Gender Samvaad Event

About Gender Samvaad:

• Gender Samvaad Gender Samvaad event, a joint attempt between DAY-NRLM and the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) to create a common platform to share experiences emerging from this effort, was organised by the Ministry of Rural Development, Govt. of India
• The attempt is to generate greater awareness on gender related interventions best practices, with a focus on hearing under DAY-NRLM across the country and voices from the states and the field.

Samvaad will provide states with opportunities to:

• Understand best practices/initiatives that other states have been undertaking to improve women’s agency (e.g. facilitating women’s access to land rights, their engagement in farmer producer organizations (FPOs), best practices around FNHW, in establishing strong institutions for public service delivery, in protecting and providing redress to vulnerable groups within women (e.g. practices against witch hunting) etc.)
• Understand gender interventions globally;
• Engage with experts and other colleagues on suggestions regarding how to handle issues/implementation barriers;
• Contribute to creation of a ‘gender repository’ with resource materials on best practices for gender interventions across the country/other countries; and
• Build advocacy around the need to focus on gender issues across SRLMs and the NRLM.

Activities under Gender Samvaad: Gender Samvaad provides states with opportunities to-

• Understand gender interventions globally engage with experts and other colleagues on suggestions regarding how to handle issues/implementation barriers;
• Contribute to creation of a ‘gender repository’ with resource materials on best practices for gender interventions across the country/other countries; and
• Build advocacy around the need to focus on gender issues across SRLMs and the NRLM.
• The event was launched by Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, and Rural Development as part of the ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The online launch event brought together a distinguished panel of experts, including senior officials of the Ministry of Rural Development.
• In addition, voices of women from the field, who shared their experiences on how gender mainstreaming efforts within the DAY-NRLM have helped enhance their agency were also included.
• A compendium of case studies presenting inspiring stories of SHG members was also released at the event.

About DAY NRLM:

• Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). The DAY-NRLM is essentially a poverty relief programme of the Central government.
• It was launched as ‘Aajeevika – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)’ by the GOI’s Ministry of Rural Development in the year 2011. It was renamed as DAY-NRLM in 2015.
• The scheme is an improved version of the earlier Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).
• The programme is supported partially by the World Bank.
• Aim: It aims at creating effective and efficient institutional platforms to enable the rural poor to increase their household income by means of sustainable livelihood enhancements and better access to financial services.
  • Additionally, the poor would also be enabled to attain improved access to rights, public services, and other entitlement
• The Union Cabinet has approved a special package worth Rs. 520 crore in the Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh for a period of five years under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM).
• The package has been approved for a period of five years till the financial year 2023-24.
• It has been decided to ensure funding on a demand-driven basis without linking allocation with poverty ratio during the extended period.

About Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE):

• It is an initiative of LEAD, an action oriented research centre of IFMR Society.
• It aims to build on existing research and generate new evidence to inform and facilitate the agenda of women’s economic empowerment.
• It is an action-oriented research centre of IFMR Society (a not for profit society registered under the Societies Act).
• It is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Why is a scheme like gender samvaad needed in India?

• Such scheme is needed to hear the voice of women and make them more empowered
• Women empowerment in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of work are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in addition to other positive development outcomes.
• Women still are facing many issues like gender discrimination, illiteracy, sexual violence, and many other health issues such steps can fill the gap between women and its empowerment

Conclusion:

Even after so many years of independence still gender discrimination is one of most serious issue. India is developing to and fro but yet many issues related to women is still untouched both in urban and rural area, women still needs support and initiative to get access to their rights, initiative taken to provide women exposure to their rights or to empower them is very positive step, but it is also should be matter of concern that women is still more victim them empowered in developing country like India.

Mains oriented question:

“Women are more victims then they are empowered in the present world”. Comment (200 words)