IN BRIEF ABOUT DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN RURAL AREAS

1. DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN
AND CHILDREN IN RURAL
AREAS
DWCRA

3. CONTENT
 INTRODUCTION
 WHO IS ELIGIBLE ?
 STRATEGIES
 ADMINISTRATIVE AND ORGANISATIONAL
ASPECTS
 FUNDING AND SUPPORT
 TRAINING
 ASSESSMENT
 CHILDREN CARE ACTIVITIES
 PROBLEMS

5.  Ministry of Rural Development
 Government ministry
 Website: rural.nic.in
 Jurisdiction: India
 Headquarters: Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi
 Cabinet minister: Narendra Singh Tomar
 Minister of state: Ram Kripal Yadav
 Programs: National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act, 2005, more
 Departments: Department of Rural Development,
Department of Land Resources

6.  Ministry of Women and Child Development
 Government ministry
 Formed: 30 January 2006
 Jurisdiction: India
 Headquarters: Shastri Bhawan, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Road, New Delhi
 Cabinet minister: Maneka Gandhi
 Minister of state: Krishna Raj
 Programs: Integrated Child Development
Services, more

7. Head SGSY Projects
 Name: Shri Anand Kumar Patney
 Landline: 011-23743625, 26, 28, 29
 email id: a.kpatney@ddugky.gov.in
 Level: National Mission Team

8.  During the Ninth Plan period,
Several anti-poverty Programmes have been restructured
to enhance the efficiency of the Programmes for providing
increased benefits to the rural poor. Self Employment
Programmes were revamped by merging the Integrated
Rural Development Programme (IRDP), the Development
of Women and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA), the
Supply of Improved Tool-Kits to Rural Artisans (SITRA), the
Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM),
the Ganga Kalyan Yojana (GKY) and the Million Wells
Scheme (MWS) into a holistic self-employment scheme
called Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY)
It is merged with S.G.S.Y.
SWARNAJAYANTI GRAMA SWAROJAGAR
YOJANA since 01.04.1999.

9. DWCRA is an important poverty alleviation programme
implemented as sub-scheme under IRDP, at district level.
Under this programme (DWCRA) the target group is rural
women of below poverty line families who are assisted to take
up various income generating activities. The DWCRA groups of
10-15 members each are given a revolving fund of Rs. 25,000/-.
The fund is utilised by the group for infrastructure support for
income generation and other group activities.
The main activities of DWCRA are as follows: -
 Gem Cutting
 Dairy activites
 Silk Weaving
 Candles/Agarpathi making
 Ready made garments
 Canteen
 Beedi making
 Multipurpose activities of Masala powder, Pickles etc.

10. Introduction
 The special scheme for Development of Women
and Children in Rural Areas (DWCRA) aims at
strengthening the gender component of IRDP.
 It was started in the year 1982-83, on a pilot basis,
in 50 districts and has now been extended to all the
districts of the country.
 DWCRA is directed at improving the living
conditions of women and, thereby, of children through
the provision of opportunities for self-employment and
access to basic social services.

11. Who are eligible ?
 Rural women coming under below Poverty Line
have to form self help groups. Their
performance will be assessed for six months.
After that the Revolving Funds will be released.
Time Frame: -
 After identification of the beneficiary self-help
groups will be formed immediately. As stated
above revolving funds will be released after six
months.

12. Strategy
 To facilitate access for poor women to employment,
 To improve the quality of life of women and children.
 Skill up gradation, training, credit and other support services
so that the DWCRA women as a group can take up income
generating activities for supplementing their incomes.
 It seeks to encourage collective action in the form of group
activities that are known to work better and are more
sustainable than the individual effort.
 It encourages the habit of thrift and credit among poor rural
women to make them self-reliant.
 The programme also envisages that this target group would
be the focus for convergence of other services like family
welfare, health care, nutrition, education, childcare, safe
drinking water, sanitation and shelter to improve the welfare
and quality of life of the family and the community.

13.  This programme aims at raising the income level of women of
poor households so as to enable their organized participation in
social development towards economic self- reliance.
 To provide an opportunity for income generating activities for
individual through a group of women by building the existing
skills and occupations, utilization of locally available resources
and providing suitable marketing facilities, and
 Self-subsistence even after help is withdrawn.
 It envisages formation of groups of 5-10 rural women each for
carrying on income generating activities. Nacho group is sanc-
tioned a 'revolving fund' of Rs. 15,000 which is shared equally
by Centre, State government and UNICEF.
 The aim is to improve women's access to basic services of
health, education, child care, nutrition, water and sanitation
through the strategy of group formation. Between 1980-81 and
1997-98 a total of 2, 19,620 groups have been formed extending
the benefit of the programme to 35, 00,247 women.

14. Administrative and Organisational Aspect of
DWCRA:
 DWCRA has an administrative structure for carrying out operations
relating to the programme. At the state level, a woman of the rank of
Deputy Secretary’ to the state government is in charge of the programme.
At the District level, a woman officer may be appointed as Assistant
Project Officer (APO) women’s Development, to assist the project officer
of the District Rural Development Agency.
 At the block level, under the community development pattern, the norm is
to provide a team comprising one woman BDO, two women VLWs and
one Gram Sevika per DWCRA Block. It is to be ensured that the project
officer of DRDA remains the coordinating officer at district level and the
BDO at the Block level.
 The task of planning, implementing and monitoring of DWCRA has been
entrusted to DRDA, as DWCRA is a part of IRDP. The staff provided for
DWCRA, the Asst. Project Officer, the BDO and the village level women
workers are expected to spend adequate time with the target group.
 They must explain to the women, the nature and purpose of the group,
help women to analyze their situation so that solutions can be
considered, give ideas, information and assistance regarding possible
income generating activities which the group can undertake, and provide
encouragement, guidance and support.

15. Funding Support System for
DWCRA:
 The main financial assistance is provided by the Central
Government. The Central Government releases the central
share of Rs. 5,000 per group and travelling allowance for the
group organizers directly to the DRDAs. It also releases the
share of UNICEF equivalent to Rs. 5,000.
 Equipment and input costs subject to a ceiling of Rs. 50,000
per centre and cost of staff are also provided. The state
Governments in turn releases their share towards grant to
groups, and travelling allowance for group organizers.
 The groups utilise the grants for various purposes. They use it
to build up infrastructural support and marketing facilities,
purchase of raw materials etc. The grant by UNICEF issued to
purchase training kits, equipment for childcare facilities etc. If
no other childcare programme is available, some childcare
facilities could be provided so that children are not neglected
when their mothers go to work.
 If the groups under DWCRA are registered under Registration
of Societies Act 1860; they can avail bank loans. The
programme also envisages construction of a multi-purpose

17. Training under DWCRA:
 The basic and fundamental concern of DWCRA is to
improve the socio-economic conditions of women and
children in rural areas. It is important to train women so
that they are able to make better use of the skills acquired
to enhance their productivity. Under DWCRA (raining is
provided by various agencies at different levels.
 The organizer of each group helps the women to derive
maximum benefits from the training. Training includes
tailoring, knitting, bamboo basket making, fishing, poultry,
pottery, soap making, candle making etc. Training of
officials and trainers who would, in turn, train the women
in the group, is carried out by the National Institute of
Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad.

18. Assessment of DWCRA:
 To evaluate and assess the functioning of a special
programme like DWCRA, it is important to review its broad
objectives. These Include increase in women’s participation in
rural development and ii rise in their earnings; helping women
to develop new skills; providing I hem with better access to
credit; and helping in the marketing of their products.
 DWCRA suffers from some basic deficiencies and problems
which act as constraints in the functioning of the programme.
These include shortage of functionaries at every level, lack of
infrastructural facilities and credit, problems in the selection of
projects, lack of clarity regarding the role of the groups, and
low motivation of the members of the groups.
 Through DWCRA, the poorest of the poor among the women
do not derive the greatest benefits. It is usually the less poor
among I he poor women who get to form the groups.

20. Child Care Activities
Child Care Activities (CCA) has been incorporated in DWCRA.
Programme during 1995-96 with the following objectives:
 To provide services for children of working DWCRA women.
 Setting up of literacy centres of DWCRA women with specific
emphasis on girl child dropouts and illiterate members of the
DWCRA groups.
 Filling up critical gaps in the areas of immunization, nutrition
etc. for the children of DWCRA members with special focus
and emphasis on the girl child to reduce gender disparities in
the infant girl child care.
 To provide some relief to the physically handicapped children of
DWCRA members. To provide immediate relief and pay for
legal assistance in case of redressal of physical abuse of the
girl child.
 Children below 6 years are the target group under child Care
Activities. Each DRDA is to receive Rs. 1.50 lakhs (Rs. 1.00

21. Several groups have become
defunct overtime. The reasons for
these include,
(a) Improper selection of groups;
(b) Lack of homogeneity among the group members;
(c) Selection of non-viable economic activities that are mostly
traditional and yield low income;
(d) The linkages for supply of raw material and marketing of
production are either deficient or not properly planned as a
result of which DWCRA groups have become vulnerable to
competition. The District Supply and Marketing Societies have
been weak outlets for the sale of DWCRA products;
(e) Lack of institutional financial support, inadequate training, a
non-professional approach and poor access to upgraded
technological inputs have deprived DWCRA groups from
diversifying into high value addition activities; and
(f) Inadequacy of staff and their insufficient training and motivation
has also affected the overall implementation of the programme.
These shortcomings would have to be suitably addressed for
the successful implementation of the programme in the Ninth