NEW DELHI: The government has decided it’s time to focus on women. The Centre is working on a proposal that would make it mandatory for all government benefits to be transferred only to a female member of the family. This is part of a 11-point formula finalised by the Prime Minister’s Office to bridge the gender gap in the country.
Central departments would soon be instructed to generate ‘gender-disaggregated data’. This means they would identify all women in the country eligible to become beneficiaries of different schemes before they launch new mechanisms to bridge the gender gap. The move, sources say, is not just about gender equality, but emphasises the transfer of power into the hands of women through several measures.
With the Ministry of Urban Development being tasked with ensuring that 50 per cent representation in local bodies is reserved for women, it has decided to collect data on women beneficiaries and women-headed households across the country. Since new initiatives, like the smart cities programme, emphasise providing safe urban spaces for women, collected data would be shared with the Ministry of Women & Child Development, said sources.
Meanwhile, at a recent meeting, the Ministry of Finance was asked to put in place an institutional mechanism to implement the lower stamp duty and registration charges that were announced for women.
“The Ministry of Finance was also requested to think about collection of data on other schemes as well. The example of Bhamashah Card Yojana was given where a Bhamashah Card is provided in the name of women head of the household. This card is necessary for the family to access any benefits under public welfare schemes of the government. It gives increased decision making power to women in the house,” the government note said.