Last updated on July 27th, 2023 at 04:42 pm
“The Minister of Minority Affairs, Ms. Najma Heptulla, has said…” In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Smriti Zubin Irani informed that during the last three years, around 40,000 women have been trained all over India, adding 175 in Bihar.
The community-wise breakup of trained women over the last three years in the State of Bihar is as follows: Muslims – 175, Christians – 0, Sikhs – 0, Buddhists – 0, Jains – 0, and Non-Minority – 0.
The agencies approved by the Ministry select the women belonging to all minorities notified under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992, which are Muslim, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Zoroastrian (Parsis), and Jain. The scheme gives preference in selection for training to beneficiaries whose annual income from all sources does not exceed Rs.2.50 lakh.
The head of Gram Panchayat / Municipal Body / Local Authority also assists the agencies in the identification/selection of women trainees.
This scheme sets up training centers by the Ministry. Training is conducted in the locality/ village/ area, and the selected agencies are required to implement the projects directly through their organizational set-up. For the last three years, the scheme has been implemented by agencies in the Bhojpur district, Bihar.
As of FY 2022-23, the Nai Roshni scheme has been merged with the Pradhan Mantri Virasat Ka Samvardhan (PM VIKAS) scheme with the aim of improving the livelihoods of minorities, particularly artisan communities, through skill development, education, and leadership training, to support their entrepreneurship interventions.
