Among the notable schemes for women announced in the Union Budget 2023 are the supporting policies for the self-help groups of women in the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), and a one-time small savings scheme for women and girls.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that rural women in the DAY-NRLM scheme, through which the government provides skill training, will benefit from forming larger enterprises. “We will enable these groups to reach the next stage of economic empowerment through formation of large producer enterprises or collectives, with each having several thousand members and managed professionally. They will be helped with supply of raw materials and for better design, quality, branding, and marketing of their products. Through supporting policies, they will be enabled to scale up their operations to serve the large consumer markets, as has been the case with several start-ups growing into ‘unicorns’,” Nirmala said.
Another scheme meant for the economic development of women comes in the form of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mahila Samman Bachat Patra 108’. Through this, a small one-time savings scheme called the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate will be made available for women and girls for a two-year period up to March 2024. Women and girls can deposit amounts up to Rs 2 lakh for a period of two years, and will get a fixed interest of 7.5%, with partial withdrawal option, the Finance Minister said.
She also mentioned that the project PM VIKAS, which is meant for traditional artisans and craftspeople, will provide an assistance package to improve products. This is expected to benefit women, along with SC/ST and OBC groups. “The components of the scheme will include not only financial support, but also access to advanced skill training, knowledge of modern digital techniques and efficient green technologies, brand promotion, linkage with local and global markets, digital payments, and social security,” Nirmala said.
Last year, the minister had announced three schemes for 'Nari Shakti' or women empowerment, which were to help in the development of women and children. This included Mission Poshan, Mission Vatsalya and Mission Shakti.