‘SCHEME FOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT OF MINORITY WOMEN’

(PIB NEWS)A target of 32,950 has been fixed for training women from the Minority communities under the ‘Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women’ during the remaining months of the current financial year. For this an outlay of Rs. 8 crore has been made. The Scheme will be implemented throughout the country with special focus on districts, blocks and towns/cities having a substantial minority population. During the next financial year a target to train 56,850 women with an outlay of more than Rs. 15 crore has been fixed. During the last fiscal of the 11th Five Year Plan i.e., during 2011-12 a total of 93,000 women, at a cost of over Rs. 25 crore, will be trained under this Scheme. Thus the total target under the ‘Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women’ for the remaining period of the 11th Plan is to train 1,82,800 women and the overall outlay will be slightly over Rs. 48 crore.

The ‘Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women’ was launched by Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of Minority Affairs, here yesterday. It proposes to reach out to women through Non-Governmental Organizations / institutions who will be provided with financial support for conducting leadership development training in a village / locality and in residential government training institutes so that women are empowered and emboldened to move out of the confines of home and assume leadership roles in their neighbourhoods. This would enable them to assert their rights, collectively or individually.