Govt looks at a sub-plan for women

After announcing its intention to push through the Womens Reservation Bill,the Government is planning yet another pro-women initiative....

After announcing its intention to push through the Womens Reservation Bill,the Government is planning yet another pro-women initiativea special sub-plan for the advancement of women. It is learnt that the Government has asked the Planning Commission to explore the possibility of formulating the sub-plan which,if implemented,would be the first such initiative on gender lines.

Sources said the idea was discussed at a meeting of top government officials convened by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar last Friday to review the specific action plans prepared by various ministries for convergence and coordination of government schemes for fighting social evils and ensuring gender equality. At the meeting,it was decided that the Planning Commission would examine the feasibility of putting in a sub-plan for women and identify districts to run pilot projects.

The action plans were prepared by task forces set up by Ministries of Information and Broadcasting,Women and Child Development,Social Justice and Empowerment,Health and Family Welfare,Human Resource Development,Tribal Affairs,Home and Rural Development as a follow-up to President Pratibha Patils letter to the Prime Ministers office last year expressing concern over implementation of various schemes for women.

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Patil had sought convergence of schemes being implemented by various ministries for fighting social evils and ensuring gender equality for attaining better results. It was also decided that the Committee of Secretaries would draft a convergence action plan which would have clear-cut milestones and time-frame for implementation of schemes for empowerment of women.

Though the exact contours of the sub-plan were not discussed,sources said the Planning Commission could either identify districts where women lag on socio-economic and health parameters or formulate it on the lines of the sub-plan for Tribals.

The President had asked the PMO to work on six areas such as providing women access to health,drinking water,sanitation and health facilities,giving them higher and professional education,ensuring gender equality,preventing crime against women and imparting skill development and vocational training for women for their economic empowerment. The reports of the task forces have been compiled by the Women and Child Development Ministry,which would be the nodal agency for implementing the convergence action plan,sources said.