GS-1: Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanization, their problems and their remedies

Key phrases: National Family Health Survey, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Stand Up India Scheme

Why in news:

• The recently released National Family Health Survey-5 shows Jump in women using bank accounts, phones.

• The states and UTs which were surveyed in this phase were Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Analysis:

Key findings:

1. 80% women now have a bank account that they use — from 53 per cent in 2015-16 to 78.6 per cent in 2019-21.

2. This achievement was accomplished because of the government’s key initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY), which is one of the biggest financial inclusion initiatives in the world, and the Stand Up India Scheme,

3. As on August 18, 2021, the number of total PMJDY accounts stood at over 430 million, where 55.47% (238.7 million) Jan Dhan account holders were women and 66.69% (287 million) Jan Dhan accounts were in rural and semi-urban areas.

Stand-Up India Scheme,

 which was launched on April 5, 2016, to promote entrepreneurship at grass root level for economic empowerment and job creation, has more than 81% (91,109 accounts) with a sanctioned amount of ₹20,749 crore belonging to women entrepreneurs.

• The all-India figure for phone use among women went up from 45.9% in 2015-16 to 54% in 2019-21.

• Haryana and Chandigarh saw a drop in the share of women owning a mobile phone that they used themselves. In Haryana, for example, at 50.4 per cent in 2020-2021, a smaller proportion of women used mobile phones, a slight dip from 50.5 percent in 2015-16. The Union territory of Chandigarh also saw a decline in the percentage of women owning mobile phones — from 74.2 percent in 2015-16 to 70 percent.

• Punjab and Uttar Pradesh bucked the trend witnessed in large agrarian states of low land ownership among women.

• In Punjab, among the women surveyed, 63.5 percent owned a house or a land (alone or jointly) in 2020-21, compared to 32.1 per cent in 2015-16.

• In Uttar Pradesh, another large agrarian state, the share of women owning land/house went up — from 34.2 per cent in 2015-16 to 51.9 per cent in 2020-2021.

• But in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the other two big agrarian states, land/house ownership among women either fell or failed to show much improvement in this period.

• In Madhya Pradesh, 39.9 percent of the women surveyed owned a house or a land in 2020-21, compared to 43.5 percent in 2015-16. In Rajasthan, the number was 26.6 per cent for 2020-21, only a marginal improvement from 24.1 per cent in 2015-16.

• On the metric of women having bank accounts that they themselves use, there’s been a pronounced surge across the surveyed states, with Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, and Punjab topping the list.

• In Madhya Pradesh, the percentage of women having a bank account increased to 74.7 per cent in 2020-21 from 37.3 per cent in 2015-16, while in Jharkhand it increased to 79.6 percent from 45.1 percent in 2013-16.

Stand Up India Scheme:

• The Stand-up India scheme aims at promoting entrepreneurship among women and scheduled castes and tribes. The scheme is anchored by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

• Stand-Up India Scheme facilitates bank loans between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 1 Crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe (ST) borrower and at least one woman borrower per bank branch for setting up a greenfield enterprise. This enterprise may be in manufacturing, services or the trading sector. In case of non-individual enterprises at least 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either an SC/ST or woman entrepreneur.

Eligibility:

• SC/ST and/or woman entrepreneurs, above 18 years of age.

• Loans under the scheme are available for only green field projects. Green field signifies, in this context, the first time venture of the beneficiary in the manufacturing or services or trading sector.

• In case of non-individual enterprises, 51% of the shareholding and controlling stake should be held by either SC/ST and/or Women Entrepreneur.

• Borrower should not be in default to any bank/financial institution.

Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana

The National Mission of Financial Inclusion named as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana seeks to integrate the poorest of the poor with bank accounts.

Salient features of the scheme

• All households across the country - both rural and urban are to be covered under the scheme. Bank accounts will be opened for 15 crore poor persons.

• All bank accounts opened under the scheme are to have an overdraft facility of Rs 5,000 for Aadhar-linked accounts after satisfactory operation in the account for 6 months.

• Issuance of RuPay Debit Card with inbuilt Rs 2 lakh personal accident insurance cover. The increased coverage amount of Rs. 2 lakh is for PMJDY accounts opened after 28.08.2018.

• A minimum monthly remuneration of Rs 5,000 to business correspondents who will provide the last link between the account holders and the bank.

Way forward:

The findings, along with data on women owning a house or land, and those owning mobile phones, offer significant insights into economic and social status of women, and their role in decision-making, in Indian households.

Source:  The Indian Express

Prelims Question

Q. With reference to the changing socio-economic conditions of women, consider the following statements:

1. The role of women in decision-making, in Indian households, has not shown any sign of improvement since the LPG reforms of the 1990s.

2. NFHS Survey 2021 gives a deep insight into the average size of women’s land holdings, and the impact of male migration on it.

3. The states of Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, and Punjab perform poorly on the metric of women having bank accounts that they themselves use.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1 and 3 only

(c) 1, 2 and 3

(d) None of the above

Answer: (d)

Mains Question
Q. The next policy priority in the domain of women empowerment is addressing the regional inequalities in the corresponding social sector indices. Elucidate with examples. (15 Marks, 250 Words)