Welfare Schemes for Women in India
Government of India working and launching various welfare schemes for women in India. These schemes are giving huge support to the poor and middle class women of different sections of society.
Under Article 15 (3), the Constitution of India allows for positive discrimination in favor of women.
The article, under right to equality, states that: “Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.”
In addition, the Directive Principles of State Policy 39(A) states that: “The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.”
The Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (National Credit Fund for Women) was set up in 1993 to make credit available for lower income women in India.
This section of static gk is very important part for competitive exams like IAS, SSC, RRB, CPO, KVS, NVS, RPSC, TNSC, MPPSC, UPSC, Railways, Banking and so many other states and central government job entrance exams.
Here is the list of Welfare shcemes for women in India. You can download pdf file of this article.
List of Welfare Schemes for Women in India
| Scheme Name | Launched | Objective | Beneficiaries |
| Rashtriya Mahila Kosh | 1993 | To provide lower income women with access to loans to begin small businesses | Women |
| Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | 2015 | 1. Prevention of gender biased sex selective elimination 2. Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child 3. Ensuring education and participation of the girl child | Girl Child |
| One Stop Centre Scheme (Sakhi) | 1 April, 2015 | For empowerment of women and providing shelter, police desk, legal, medical and counselling services to victims of Gender Based Violence (GBV) under one roof integrated with a 24 hour Helpline. | Women |
| Women Helpline Scheme | 2014 | 1. To provide toll-free 24-hours telecom service to women affected by violence seeking support and information. 2. To facilitate crisis and non-crisis intervention through referral to the appropriate agencies such as police / Hospitals / Ambulance services/District Legal Service Authority (DLSA)/Protection Officer (PO)/OSC. 3. To provide information about the appropriate support services, government schemes and programmes available to the woman affected by violence, in her particular situation within the local area in which she resides or is employed. | Women |
| UJJAWALA : A Comprehensive Scheme for Prevention of trafficking and Rescue, Rehabilitation and Re-integration of Victims of Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation. | 2016 | 1. To prevent trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation through social mobilization and involvement of local communities, awareness generation programmes, generate public discourse through workshops/seminars and such events and any other innovative activity. 2. To facilitate rescue of victims from the place of their exploitation and place them in safe custody. 3. To provide rehabilitation services both immediate and long-term to the victims by providing basic amenities / needs such as shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment including counselling, legal aid and guidance and vocational training. 4. To facilitate reintegration of the victims into the family and society at large 5. To facilitate repatriation of cross-border victims to their country of origin | Women |
| Working Women Hostel | 6 April, 2017 | The objective of the scheme is to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facility for their children, wherever possible, in urban, semi urban, or even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist. | |
| SWADHAR Greh (A Scheme for Women in Difficult Circumstances) | 2001-2002 | Under the Scheme, Swadhar Greh will be set up in every district with capacity of 30 women with the following objectives: 1. To cater to the primary need of shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment and care of women in distress and those who are without any social and economic support. 2. To enable them to regain their emotional strength that gets hampered due to their encounter with unfortunate circumstances. 3. To provide them with legal aid and guidance to enable them to take steps for their readjustment in family/society. 4. To rehabilitate them economically and emotionally. 5. To act as a support system that understands and meets various requirements of women in distress. 6. To enable them to start their life afresh with dignity and conviction. | Women |
| The Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana Conditional Maternity Benefit plan (CMB) | 2010 | It provides money to help ensure the good health and nutrition of the recipients. As of March 2013 the programme is being offered in 53 districts around the country. | Pregnant and lactating women age 19 and over for their first two live births. |
| Priyadarshini | 2011 | It offers women in seven districts access to self-help groups. | Women |
| Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls – Sabla | 2012 | It offers a variety of services to help young women become self-reliant, including nutritional supplementation and education, health education and services, and life skills and vocational training | Adolescent girls |