Women Empowerment

1. household resources such as food, education, access to health care and at puberty, sometimes coerced into early marriage. Most women in the rural areas suffer from double burden of carrying out less quantifiable work like cooking, fetching water, sending children to school along with agriculture labour, feeding cattle, milking cows etc., while the men folk perform defined activities like selling milk and grains produced by the household. Women in the minority communities fare badly too. They are not just a minority, but the 'marginalized majority' and are sidelined in decision making in the family, and usually cut off from full involvement in the workings of the community and form an equal share in the rewards from social institutions.
2. Empowerment of women per se is not only essential for equity, but also constitutes a critical element in our fight for poverty reduction, economic growth and strengthening of civil society. Women and children are always the worst sufferers in a poverty stricken family and need support. Empowering women, especially mothers, is even more important as it is in homes that she nourishes, nurture and moulds the character of her offspring.
3. A report of the High Level Committee on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India (popularly known as the Sachar Report) had highlighted the fact that India’s largest minority group, the Muslim numbering 13.83 Crore, have been left out of the development trajectory and within this group Muslim women are doubly disadvantaged.
4. Keeping this in view, Ministry of Minority Affairs has reformulated the scheme in 2011-12 and renamed it as “Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women”. The implementation of the Scheme started in 2012-13.
5. Based on experience in the first year of implementation, it was felt to bring in certain modifications to ensure its reach to the target groups and effective implementation at ground level, and therefore an appraisal was made by the Standing Finance Committee in on 6th March 2013. As per their recommendations, the scheme has been revised as follows for continuation during 12^th Five Year Plan:

1. Target Group includes women belonging to all minorities notified under Section 2 (c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 viz. Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis). However, to further strengthen the mosaic of plurality in the society and bring about solidarity and unity through their own efforts to improve their lot, the scheme permits a mix of women from non-minority communities not exceeding 25% of a project proposal. Efforts should be made by the Organization for having a representative mix of women from SCs/STs/OBCs, women with disabilities and other communities under within this 25% group.
2. Efforts will be made to persuade Elected Women Representatives (EWRs), from any community, under the Panchayati Raj institutions to be included as a trainee.

1. The objective of the scheme is to empower and instill confidence among minority women, including their neighbours from other communities living in the same village/locality, by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government systems, banks and other institutions at all levels.
2. Empowerment of women from the minority communities and emboldening them to move out of the confines of their home and community and assume leadership roles and assert their rights, collectively or individually, in accessing services, facilities, skills, and opportunities besides claiming their due share of development benefits of the Government for improving their lives and living conditions.

1. Nurturing/hand holding service envisaged in the scheme being linked with advocacy is a field intensive activity. It requires continuous involvement and availability of facilitators at the doorsteps of the target group. The personnel of the Organization implementing the scheme would be required to visit the village/locality periodically for providing nurturing/handholding service to the group of women imparted leadership development training so that they are guided in the use of tools and techniques taught to them and are able to extract the benefit from their efforts. Such field intensive activities are best suited for highly motivated and dedicated community based organizations. Due to the very nature of women’s household activities requiring them to stay close to their home, it is important that the organization implementing this scheme have the experience, personnel and resources to carry out trainings in the village/locality where the women reside.
2. The organization should also have prior experience and resources to arrange residential training in recognized Government training institutes or their own facility. It is, therefore, necessary that organizations having the reach, motivation, dedication, manpower and resources to carry out such trainings in the villages/localities and also arrange residential training courses are eligible to participate in the implementation of the scheme. This does not preclude Central and State Government’s training institutes including universities and institutes of higher learning in participating in the implementation of this scheme.
3. Organizations which would be eligible for applying for financial assistance under this scheme are given below:
   1. Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
   2. Public Trust registered under any law for the time being in force.
   3. Private limited non-profit company registered under Section 25 of the Indian Companies Act, 1956.
   4. Universities/ Institutions of higher learning recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC).
   5. Training institutes of Central and State Government/UT Administration including Panchayati Raj Training institutes.
   6. Duly registered Cooperative Societies of Women/ Self Help Groups.
4. Hereinafter ‘organizations’ would mean the organizations mentioned above including non-governmental organization (NGOs) falling within the above definition.

1. The leadership development training scheme shall be implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs through organizations.
2. The selected organizations should implement the project directly through their organizational set-up in the locality/village/area.
3. The onus of implementing the project properly and successfully would rest with the organization assigned with work by the Ministry.

1. The leadership training modules should invariably cover issues and rights of women, relating to education, employment, livelihood etc. under the Constitution and various Acts; opportunities, facilities and services available under schemes and programs of the Central and State Governments in the fields of education, health, hygiene, nutrition, immunization, family planning, disease control, fair price shop, drinking water supply, electricity supply, sanitation, housing, self-employment, wage employment, skill training opportunities, crimes against women etc. It may also cover role of women in Panchayati Raj and Nagar Palika, legal rights of women, Right to Information Act (RTI), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Program (MGNREGA), household surveys and Below Poverty Line (BPL) list/Modalities, Aadhaar/UID Number, knowledge regarding government, semi-government office structure and functions, Redressal Forums/mechanisms etc.
2. Specific training modules based on local issues/needs will be developed by involving ground level local organizations. Ministry may also consult other Ministries like Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare etc. to develop modules. Training modules will also be converted into DVDs in Hindi, English and regional languages. The cost will be borne from the Administrative Expenses under the scheme.
3. The training module will be structured in such a manner that training inputs are given in short phases.
4. The training module will also use audio-visual aids and case studies for making it more interesting and comprehensible. Qualities of leadership like organizational capacity, communicable skill, self development and articulation, communication and public speaking, organizing capabilities, negotiation and conflict resolutions etc. will form integral part of the training. Group exercises and discussions will be incorporated in the training modules to encourage active participation and make the scheme more lively and interactive. If possible, official functionaries, bankers etc. should be invited to speak on their schemes and programs and interact with the women undergoing training.
5. In case the need arises, the Ministry may engage outside expert/consultant/agency to prepare suitable training modules/material for leadership development of women from the minority communities.
6. The Sanctioning Committee will also function as the Committee for recommending/approving training modules prepared by outside expert/consultant/agency and selected organization and will include, as members, the Joint Secretary concerned dealing with schemes connected with the objective of this scheme in the Ministries of Home Affairs, Women & Child Development, Rural Development, Labour & Employment, Health & Family Welfare, Food & Public Distribution, Department of School Education & Literacy and any other Ministries/Departments whose schemes/programs/initiatives are covered by the training modules.

1. Selection of villages/ urban localities: Villages/ urban localities in rural/urban areas having a substantial percentage of minority population shall be selected by the organization for conducting the leadership development training program. A list of villages where the village/ urban locality training's are proposed to be conducted should be submitted to the Ministry along with the percentage of minority population. These lists will be duly authenticated by a local authority and submitted to Government of India along with Project proposals directly to the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
2. Identification of women for training and selection criteria: Organization selected for carrying out training for leadership development of minority women would have the responsibility to motivate, identify and select women to be trained in accordance with the criteria of the scheme from villages/localities having a substantial minority population. The Organizations will involve Head of Gram Panchayat/Municipal Body/ Local Authority for identification/ selection of women trainees and such lists will be duly authenticated by Head of Panchayat / Municipal Body / Local Authority. The list will be submitted by the organization before start of training.
3. Eligible Women Trainees: Although there will be no annual income bar, woman/parent or guardian of woman having annual income not exceeding Rs.2.50 lakh from all sources would be given preference in selection. They should be between the age group of 18 years to 65 years.
4. Aadhaar / UID number: All citizens in the country are being given a unique identity (UID) number called Aadhaar. Aadhaar number should be collected by the organization wherever it has been issued and indicated against the name of the woman selected for training. The organizations shall also assist the women trainees in obtaining their Aadhaar Number from the office of District Collectors/District Magistrate or any other institute, organization authorized for this purpose by the Central/ State Government/s, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) etc.
5. Types of Training's: There will be two types of leadership development training's viz. Non-residential and Residential, and the criteria for selection of women for each type of training's are as follows:-
   1. Non-residential Leadership Development Training in the village/urban locality: Up to 25 women in one batch from a village/ urban locality who are dedicated, motivated and committed to work for the betterment of the welfare of women from the minority communities in particular and the society in general, would be imparted leadership training. At least 10% of the total women in a group of 25 women should have passed Class X or its equivalent. This may be relaxed to Class V level or its equivalent in case women who have passed Class X are not easily available. Organizations would be required to give proposal for this training in sets of five batches of trainees.
   2. Residential Leadership Development Training: Out of a group of 25 women (one batch) for residential training, not more than five women from a single village/urban locality may be selected for residential leadership development training. They should possess at least Class XII certificate or its equivalent, which may be relaxed to class X certificate holder or its equivalent, in case Class XII pass are not easily available and should be dedicated, motivated, physically fit and healthy and committed to work for the betterment of the welfare of women from the minority communities in particular and society in general. After their advanced training they should be expected to become community-based leaders/trainers in the village and assume leadership role as envisaged in the scheme. They would also be available to Government agencies and organizations for furtherance of the objectives of the scheme.
6. 1. Taking into consideration the fact that most women, especially in the rural areas are required to stay close to their home and are not able to venture far out and also the fact that there would still be some educated and young women who would like to dedicate themselves to work for the betterment of women folk in particular and the community in general, the two types of training's are provided under this scheme.
   2. It is envisaged that women imparted leadership development training would work towards achieving the objectives of the scheme.
   3. The organization shall carry out nurturing and hand-holding for a period of at least one year to ensure that the empowered women folk are able to act as a pressure group to take up their grievances/problems with the village/block/district/State authorities relating to availability of basic infrastructure and services identified during formulation of the project as requiring improvement or provisioning in the village/locality.
   4. The organization would need to ensure that facilitators engaged for nurturing/hand-holding service visit the village/urban locality as stipulated, carry out their assignments diligently, report the progress and are assisted by the organization whenever the need arises.
   5. The training programs shall be conducted in the manner given below:-
      1. Non-residential Training in the Village/Urban Locality: The training shall be conducted in the village/locality by using existing facilities or rented permanent structure. The duration of the training shall be for six days and each day will be of six hours. Care should be taken to ensure that the dates for training are fixed in order to avoid religious/festive occasions and demands of seasons. Printed training material would be prepared by the organization on the basis of training modules and provided in the local language of the area. To incentivise the training course, allowance/stipend to partially compensate/offset the loss of income/wage would be given to the selected women trainees along with a meal and crèche arrangement for their children while the training is ongoing during the day. At least two-third of the trainers engaged by the Organization shall be women and they should be able to deliver their inputs in the local language of the area on the topics given in the training module.
      2. Residential Leadership Development Training: Selected eligible women would be imparted leadership training in residential training institutes. For approving residential training's in training institutes of organizations, the institute concerned must have boarding/lodging arrangements for at least 25 women in a secure location, which would be verified by the District Administration. Printed training material would be prepared by the organization on the basis of training modules and provided in the local language of the area. Care should be taken to ensure that the dates for training are fixed to avoid religious/festive occasions and demands of seasons. The entire training fees, training materials, boarding, food, refreshment and travel expenses would be covered by the scheme. The trainees would be also given allowance/stipend for the duration of the training period. The organization carrying out training for leadership development of minority women would be responsible to select women who are capable of becoming trainers and assume leadership role to be trained in accordance with the criteria of the scheme.
7. Training organization, in collaboration with the District Collector/Deputy Commissioner/Sub Divisional Officer/Block Development Officer, will organize at least half-day workshop to sensitize Government functionaries, bankers including Panchayati Raj functionaries etc. at the district, sub-division/block level etc. concerned about the women empowerment program carried out by them under this scheme. The Government functionaries would be informed of the remedial action which may be sought by groups of women and how to be responsive in addressing their problems and grievances. In case more than one organization is approved for implementing this scheme in a district/sub-division/block concerned, the District Administration may give the responsibility of holding such a workshop to one of the selected organizations. The selected organization shall ensure that other organizations sanctioned training projects under this scheme in the district/subdivision/ block participate in the workshop. For holding this workshop, an amount of Rs.15,000/- only would be admissible to the organization concerned.
8. Nurturing and Hand Holding: Nurturing and hand holding would be a post-training service to be rendered by the organization for a period not exceeding one year from the beginning of the training program to women who have undergone leadership development training. The facilitators of organization shall visit the village/locality to assist the empowered women at least once a month during the project period. This is considered critical to the success of the scheme in order to ensure that they are guided and assisted in placing their problems and grievances before the authorities concerned for remedial action as envisaged in the scheme.
9. Concurrent Monitoring and Reporting: The organization shall, while extending nurturing and hand holding service, carry out concurrent monitoring for taking corrective action, wherever required. The organization shall submit monthly/quarterly progress reports and project completion report to the Ministry in the formats to be prescribed. It shall also submit such reports to the State and District Administration if so required by the Ministry. Further, the organization shall, through the Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled mobile phone, send photos of all important activities of the training program such as address by faculty, government functionaries, lunch/meals being provided, usage of audio-visual equipment's, submitting petitions for redressal of grievances/problems faced, workshop being conducted etc.

1. Along with proposal, the organization shall submit a Project Report for a minimum of 5 (five) batches of village/locality level training. The organization would be entitled to amount of Rs.25,000/- only as agency fees/charges per project of 5 (five) Non-residential village/ urban locality training's for services rendered towards proper, timely and successful implementation of the project. Agency fees/charges admissible to the Organization for Non-residential village/urban locality training would cover items of expenditure of the organization on concurrent monitoring and reporting, administrative costs, all other expenses required for implementation of the scheme, etc.
2. In respect of Residential training, an amount of Rs.15,000/- only would be the entitlement of agency fees/charges for one batch of trainees.

1. The organization shall be provided financial assistance for implementation of the scheme. The item-wise rates given below in the table are indicative and may vary according to the area of operation, fees charged by training institutes, boarding cost etc. The total cost indicated for each type of training would be the maximum permissible cost that may be sanctioned for a batch of 25 women. However, item-wise cost would be inter-changeable provided it does not exceed the total permissible amount, except for allowance/pay which is fixed. Supporting documents should be provided in the project proposal by the organization for proposed expenditure to be incurred in respect of training, travel etc. The rates are given in the table below:

   DETAILS OF RATES FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING IN VILLAGE/LOCALITY FOR WOMEN
   Sl. No.	Items of expenditure for leadership development training programme	No. of persons	Indicative rate (Rs)	Duration / units	Total cost(Rs)
   1	(i) Leadership development training in the village/locality.
   	(a) Fees/honorarium for engaging faculty members/resource person	2	500	6 days	6000
   	(b) To and fro transportation cost for faculty members/resource person	2	2500	3 occasions	15000
   	(c) Lodging cost for faculty members	2	250	6 days	3000
   	(d) Hiring of venue, furniture, and creche facility		750	6 days	4500
   	(e) Cost for one meal for trainee women	25	50	6 lunches	7500
   	(f) Cost for using/hiring audio-visual aids, participatory training kits and taking audiovisual clips of different activities for reports.		2000	6 days	12000
   	(g) Cost for distribution of training material, literature in local language and stationary.	25	200	One time	5000
   	(h) Allowance/stipend for women (To be paid by Cheque into the Account of the beneficiary)	25	50	6 days	7500
   	(i) Cost for motivation, identification and selection of eligible women.	25	50	One time	1250
   	(j) Cost for hand holding/nurturing by facilitators for project period including concurrent monitoring and reporting.		400	Once a month for 12 months	4800
   2	Total				66550
   3	Total for 5 batches of Non-residential village training's		66550	5 batches (125 Women)	332750
   4	Add agency fees/charges for 5 batches of village training's		25000		357750

   DETAILS OF RATES FOR NON-RESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT TRAINING INVILLAGE/LOCALITY FOR WOMEN
   Sl. No.	Items of expenditure for leadership development training program	No. of persons	Indicative rate (Rs)	Duration / units	Total cost(Rs)
   1	(i) Residential leadership development training.
   	(a) Includes fees, boarding, food etc. (actuals to be reimbursed)	25	1000	6 days	150000
   	(b) Literature, training material, information booklets, copies of government schemes and programs, relevant laws and Acts, stationary.	25	600	One time	15000
   	(c) Indicative transport expenditure (actuals to be reimbursed)	25	1000	One return trip	25000
   	(d) Allowance/stipend for women (To be paid by Cheque into the Account of the beneficiary)	25	100	6 days	15000
   	(e) Cost for motivation, identification and selection of eligible women.	25	50	One time	1250
   2	Total				206250
   3	Add agency fees/charges for one batch (25 Women) of residential training		15000		221250

1. The Ministry shall be permitted to set aside up to the extent of 1.5% of the annual allocation under this scheme to meet administrative expenditure for purchase of computers and accessories, GPS enabled mobile phones and accessories, furniture, stationary and developing software, DVDs of training modules, engaging qualified personnel/ agency for entering and analyzing data, processing proposals, monitoring and evaluating reports, preparation of notes, power point presentation and reports, preparing material for placing information and data on the Ministry’s website, manning telephone during office days for question and answer (Q & A) facility or outsourcing such activities, issue of advertisement, consultancy charges for preparation of pedagogy and training materials, etc. Financial assistance shall also be given to the States/government organizations for meeting expenses that would be required for smooth implementation of the scheme. This may include purchase of GPS enabled mobile phones and field visit expenses of government functionaries and evaluators.

1. The scheme will be implemented throughout the country with special focus on districts, blocks and towns/cities having a substantial minority population. It is proposed to cover 2 (two) lakh minority women during entire 12th Five Year Plan Period with 40,000 women in each financial year. The fund requirement for the scheme for entire 12^th Five Year Plan period is Rs. 75 Crore.

1. Advertisement will be published by the Ministry of Minority Affairs in the National/Local newspapers for inviting proposals from organizations.

1. Mandatory qualifications: Stringent requirements would be adopted for selection of organizations in order to ensure that organizations that are highly motivated, dedicated and committed to the welfare of women and working in the field among women, especially minority women, qualify. They should have the requisite personnel, financial viability and infrastructure to operate at the grass root level for implementation of the project. Given below are mandatory qualifications required to be fulfilled by the organization before consideration of other requirements:
   1. The organization must be duly registered and should have been in operation for a minimum of three years.
   2. The organization should be financially viable and not have deficit account during last three years. For this, duly audited annual accounts of the last three years should be provided to the Ministry with proposal.
   3. The organization should have held all their statutory required meetings during the last three years. Documents to prove these should be provided.
   4. The organization must have undertaken at least one project exclusively for development of women and also conducted programmes, where minority community was included. Evidence to that effect should be provided.
   5. Preference will be given to local ground level organization which are certified by the local authorities/District Collector/ Urban Local Bodies that such organization has worked in that particular area for women development projects and delivered good results.
   6. The organization must have at least three key training personnel who should at least be a Graduate/ a Graduate Diploma holder. A list of all the key training personnel containing their names, gender, educational qualifications, area of expertise, number of years and type of experience, full postal address and contact numbers should be given. (A single affidavit can be given).
   7. The organization should not have been blacklisted by any Government Departments/agency. Organization or any of its head should not have been convicted for any criminal offense. An affidavit certified by NOTARY should be provided.
   8. In case of residential training's for trainees, the organization must have the requisite residential boarding facilities, training space and toilets which should be sufficient for at least 25 trainees. Safety of trainees must be of prime importance.
2. Requirements for processing request: Given below are the essential requirements for selection of organizations. Documents etc. (self-certified photocopies) which are required to support the fulfillment of essential requirements should be furnished by the organization concerned:
   1. The organization shall submit Bye laws/ Articles of Association etc.
   2. Income tax clearance of the previous year must be provided by the organization.
   3. The name of the States and the Districts where the organization has jurisdiction to operate shall be submitted along with documents [Memorandum of Articles (MoA), Articles of Association (AoA) etc.] to support it.
3. Criteria to be Given Weightage for Selection: Criteria, which may be modified/changed as per the requirement under General Financial Rules (GFR)/relevant instructions of the Government in this regard, for assessing the suitability of Organizations by assigning weights and minimum qualification marks for selection of organization, are given below:-
   1. The number of years of existence and operation of the organization beyond the minimum requirement of three years.
   2. The number of projects implemented by the organization for development of women.
   3. Performance record of the institution evaluated by any recognized agency.
   4. The number of projects implemented by the organization in the region/area/locality similar cultural environment where it intends to implement the projects under this scheme.
   5. The number of key personnel working for the organization with undergraduate or post graduate degree in social work.
   6. The number of field women workers/facilitators working for the organization the organization.
   7. The number of projects of Government, bi-lateral, multi-lateral funding agencies/institutions or United Nations funded projects taken up by the organization.
4. The provisions of para 13.1 to 13.3 above shall not apply to Central and State Universities/Government institutions of higher learning recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) and training institutes of Central and State Government. For such organizations/institutions, proposal would be invited directly from the State Governments/UT Administration along with their recommendations.

1. Organizations fulfilling the mandatory qualifications and essential requirements laid down by the Ministry would be selected by a Committee constituted in the Ministry as per the General Financial Rules/relevant instructions of the Government in this regard on the basis of weightage assigned and the qualification marks attained by the Organization.

1. The Proposal will form two parts. In Part-I, the Organizations will submit their credentials and documents as per mandatory criteria mentioned in para 13.1 to para 13.3, and Part-II will include a detailed Project Proposal. The Proposal will be submitted in Prescribed Format. The prescribed financial norms under this scheme will be strictly adhered to. At this stage, the requirement to submit list of trainees is optional.
2. The Complete Proposal (Part-I & II) will be submitted through District Minority Welfare Officers to the District Collectors, who in turn will send it to the Ministry directly with his/her comments/recommendations. The District Administration will require to ascertain credentials, activities and capabilities of organizations, verification of the village/locality of having a substantial minority population and the need for such training in the village/locality proposed and any other matter related to the implementation of the project.
3. The Organizations will require to qualify on mandatory criteria to make their project eligible for examination and consideration. The organization is required to achieve minimum 70% marks for this purpose.
4. As soon as an organization/s qualifies as per para 15.3 above, the organization/s will have to submit the complete list of trainees which will mandatorily contain age, qualification, family income details, Aadhaar Number/Voter ID Number/ any other identification, recognized by the Government in the prescribed format. No project will be approved for an organization which does not furnish completed list of trainees duly authenticated by Head of Panchayat/ Municipal Body/ Local Authority.
5. The Projects of qualified organizations shall be placed for consideration and approval of the Sanctioning Committee in the Ministry. Financial assistance would be given to the organizations whose project proposals are found in order and would serve the objectives of the scheme.
6. Baseline profile of village/urban locality: The project proposal shall also contain a baseline profile on the status of availability of basic amenities and services in each village/urban locality. Having a baseline profile of each village bringing out the problems and grievances is required for gauging the extent of achievement of leadership development training. Such training's would have empowered and emboldened women to seek redressal of their problems through advocacy. The baseline profile should invariably cover availability of Government personnel, status and opportunity to access to existing infrastructure/services, need for new/additional infrastructure/services, the quality and standard of delivery of services/benefits, etc. relating to:
   1. education (teaching, mid-day meals in schools);
   2. inoculation, vaccination and nutrition in anganwadi centres;
   3. health care (OPD, institutional delivery, family planning, doctors, medical staff, medicines etc.) in health centres/sub-centres/dispensaries;
   4. essential commodities in Fair Price Shop/ration shop;
   5. drinking water supply;
   6. individual and community toilet/sanitation facilities;
   7. electricity supply in homes;
   8. employment opportunities (MGNREGA etc.);
   9. skill development/training opportunities and facility;
   10. crime against women/women issues,
   11. post office and banking services etc.

1. The measurable outcomes of a women leadership development training programme implemented for women from a village or locality would be assessed from their ability to assume leadership roles and assert their rights, collectively or individually, in having their problems and grievances listed out in the village baseline profile addressed for accessing services, facilities, skills, and opportunities besides claiming their due share of development benefits of the government for improving their lives and living conditions. The deprivation faced, in terms of availability and access to infrastructure, facilities and services relating to civic/basic amenities and socio-economic conditions, brought out in the village baseline profile of a village/locality would be assessed in terms of its status before and after the intervention after the implementation of the project.

1. A Sanctioning Committee, comprising of the following, shall be constituted in the Ministry of Minority Affairs to consider and approve projects submitted by the qualified/ eligible organizations for implementation of the scheme:
   1. Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs – Chairperson
   2. Financial Advisor, Ministry of Minority Affairs
   3. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development – Member
   4. Joint Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy - Member
   5. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development – Member
   6. Deputy Director general, Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART) – Member
   7. Executive Director, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK) – Member
   8. Advisor, Minority Welfare Sector, Planning Commission – Member
   9. Managing Director, National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) – Member
   10. Joint Secretary, Ministry of Minority Affairs (dealing with the scheme) – Convenor and Member

The terms and conditions for release of financial assistance, which may be reviewed/modified by the Ministry at any stage, are as follows:-

1. The organization shall have a website displaying all the details of their organization, head office, field offices, land line telephone numbers, personnel, details of past operations and activities, and maintain full details of name and Aadhaar number (wherever Unique Identity Card has been issued), address, and telephone number etc. of the women given training under the scheme, the activities carried out by them for improving their lives and living conditions after the training and during the nurturing/hand-holding period and furnish this information to the Ministry.
2. The organization shall have in their possession Global Positioning System (GPS) digital camera for taking photos of all important activities such as address by faculty, government functionaries, lunch being provided, usage of audio-visual equipments, submitting petitions for redressal of grievances/problems faced, workshop being conducted etc. such cameras should have the feature of taking photos with the location (latitude and longitude) of where the photo was taken using a GPS receiver. In case such equipment is not available with the organization, it should give an undertaking that it would do so before funds are released.
3. The Organization shall furnish an undertaking, in the name of the competent authority responsible for actual implementation of the scheme, accepting the terms and conditions laid down by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and furnish a bond with two sureties and will also be responsible for furnishing of accounts of the grant sanctioned. The requirement of furnishing two sureties would not be required in the case of Central and State Universities/Institutions of higher learning recognized by University Grants Commission (UGC) and training institutes of Central and State Government.
4. The organization shall maintain a separate account for the financial assistance released by the Ministry of Minority Affairs and shall make the books of accounts available to the Ministry as and when requisitioned for inspection.
5. The organization shall utilize the financial assistance for the specified purposes only.
6. The stipend to trainees will be given by Cheque into the bank account of the beneficiary.
7. The organization shall give an undertaking that in the event of acting in contravention of this condition, it will refund the amount received from the Government with 18% annual penal interest or the penal interest prescribed by Chief Controller of Accounts and any other action, as deemed necessary by the Government.
8. The organization shall be solely responsible for ensuring that women fulfilling the eligibility criteria are selected for training.
9. The Organization shall give an undertaking that their books for this project will be open to inspection by the officers of Central Government, concerned State Government/UT Administration or any Chartered Accountant authorized by the Ministry.
10. On completion of the project, the organization shall submit to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, the utilization certificate (GFR-19A), and audited accounts, certified by a Chartered Accountant along with the following documents:
    1. Duly audited income and expenditure account/balance sheet for the year, including receipt & payment account of the institute, in respect of funds received during the year.
    2. A certificate to the effect that the institution has not received any other grant for the same project from any other Ministry/Department of the Government of India, State Government/UT Administration and any other Government/Non-Government organization/bilateral/ multilateral funding agencies or United nations.
11. The organization shall erect at the venue of the training program, banners/ boards indicating that the training/workshop is organized on behalf of Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India.
12. The organization shall give prior intimation of the training program to the Ministry/ State Government/UT Administration to enable officials to be deputed to observe the training program.
13. The organization shall submit photographs, video clippings as evidence of holding the training program/workshop to the Ministry. These shall also be hosted in the website of the Organization.
14. The organization shall submit copies of pamphlets, publicity materials etc. brought out in the local language in connection with the training program to the Ministry/State Government.
15. The Government of India will have the right to direct the organization for making any changes in the programs or in the estimated cost.
16. The Government shall have the right to lay down any other conditions prior to the release of the grants-in-aid.
17. The organization approved for implementation of the project proposal in the villages/localities shall ensure that, as far as possible, majority of the trainers deployed are women, preferably some of them from the minority community concerned.

1. A bond furnished by the organization along with two sureties shall be sufficient if the bond covers the amount that would be released directly to the organization. Release of second and subsequent installments will be based on the various requirements to be fulfilled by the organization as stated in the Annex to the sanction order and will invariably include photographic evidence of all activities/trainings, Progress reports and utilization certificate by the organization, etc. For the release of 2nd Installment, an inspection report in prescribed format from District Minority Welfare Officer with regard to satisfactory completion of training will be necessary.
2. Photographs: With the Global Positioning System (GPS) enabled mobile phones available with the organization, the photos of all daily activities would be captured and sent to the internet address of the Ministry every day as given in the sanction order. Submission of photographs to the Ministry and State Government on each of the activities carried out by the organization would be a requirement for release of the 2nd and subsequent installments. The Organization shall place the photographs on their website and this should be informed to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, State Government and District Collector concerned.
3. Release of Funds: Funds will be released by the Ministry to the organization concerned based on the approved project proposal in installments as follows:

   For Non-residential Village/urban locality Training:

   • 1st installment: 50% of the approved project cost would be released before the commencement of the training. The organization will ensure that this release covers expenditure for conduct of training and allowance/stipend. Expenditure for holding workshop will be released in one lump sum along with the first installment.

   • 2nd installments: 50% of the approved project cost would be released on submission of a certificate of satisfactory completion of the training course duly signed by all women trained and countersigned by Head of Panchayat/ Municipal Body/ Local Authority and submission of utilization certificate.

   For Residential Training:

   • 1st installment: 50% of the approved project cost would be released before the commencement of the training. The organization will ensure that this release covers expenditure for conduct of training and allowance/stipend.

   • 2nd installment: 50% of the approved project cost would be released on submission of a certificate of satisfactory completion of the training course duly signed by all women trained and countersigned by Head of Panchayat/ Municipal Body/ Local Authority and submission of utilization certificate.

1. Transfer of fund would be done through electronic transfer by the banks wherever facility for such transfer is available.
2. For enabling E-payment directly into the account of organization/training institute, the organization shall furnish an Authorization Letter from the payee, with full details of e-payment of the Organization i.e. name of payee, bank IFS code number, bank branch, bank branch name, number and address etc. The Authorization Letter must be submitted in Prescribed Format and counter-signed by the manager of the bank branch concerned to avoid wrong account number. Only one authorization letter would be required for the entire financial year or till the account number is changed during the year.

1. Having a website of the organization displaying all the details of their organization, head office, field offices, land line telephone numbers, personnel, details of past operations and activities, and full details of names including Aadhaar number, address, and telephone number etc. of the women given training under the scheme, the activities carried out by them for improving their lives and living conditions after the training and during the nurturing/hand-holding period is necessary. Furnishing this information to the Ministry would constitute an important element under the scheme to enable social audit. The organization shall ensure that photographs and short clips of the leadership training's conducted including question and answer sessions are taken, placed on the website and made available to the Ministry.

1. Ministry will put in place a mechanism for monitoring the progress of implementation of the projects by organizations and for this purpose invite State Secretary concerned and also some renowned women/NGOs to the review meetings. The Sanctioning Committee will also review the progress of implementation of the projects. The women and NGOs may be paid some amount for monitoring.
2. The District Level Committees constituted under Multi-sectoral Development Program (MsDP), which also involve People’s representative, may also be assigned the task of monitoring this program.
3. Financial monitoring of implementing organizations may also be done through Chartered Accountants empanelled for this purpose by the Ministry for which charges shall be met from the sub head professional charges of the scheme.
4. There will be a Mid-Term Evaluation of the Scheme in 2015-16. During Mid-Term Evaluation, the Ministry will particularly review the necessity of the training modules in a particular area, financial viability of such training's, maximum number of women who could be trained by an organization. This could be done by the agencies empanelled with the Ministry under the Research/Studies, Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Schemes including Publicity, experienced officers, women, NGOs could also be involved in this process.
5. Impact assessment and evaluation of the project would be carried out periodically or as and when required, by an empanelled agency of the Ministry as above. Such studies will be funded under the existing scheme of Research/studies, Monitoring and Evaluation of the Ministry.

1. The implementation of the scheme would be reviewed by the Ministry after one year of implementation.
2. Ministry of Minority Affairs may make changes/modifications, not involving financial aspects, in the scheme as and when required for improvement in implementation keeping in view the National, Regional needs and requirements of target groups.

Report of the high level Committee on the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community of India (Popularly known as the Sachar Report) had highlighted the fact that India's largest minority group have been left out of the development trajectory and within this group Muslim women are doubly disadvantaged. Keeping this in view, the Ministry of Minority Affairs has launched 'Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women'.

The scheme was launched in January, 2010 and is being implemented from 2010-11.

The objective of the scheme is to empower and instill confidence in women including their neighbors from other communities living in the village/locality by providing knowledge, tools and techniques for interacting with Government system.

The scheme is envisaged to reach out to women through nongovernmental organizations who will be provided with financial support for conducting leadership development training's so that women are empowered and emboldened to move out of the confines of home and community and assume leadership roles and assert their rights collectively or individually.

The minority communities served by the Ministry of Minority Affairs are Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis) as notified as minority communities. Eligible women of these minority communities would be the target group. However, the scheme permits a mix of women from other non-minority communities not exceeding 25% of a project proposal.

Although there will be no annual income bar, woman/parent or guardian, woman having annual income not exceed Rs.2.50 lakh from all sources would be given preference in selection. They should be between the age group of 18 years to 65 years.

There are two types of training:

1. Leadership development training in the village/locality. Upto 50 women in a village/locality who are dedicated, motivated and committed to work for the betterment of the welfare of women from the minority communities in particular. At least, 10% of the total woman in a group of 50 women should have passed Class X. This may be relaxed to class V level in case women who have passed class X are not easily available.
2. Leadership development training in residential training institutes. Out of a group of 50 women for residential training, not more than five women from a single village/locality may be selected in residential government training institutes. They should possess at least a graduation degree, which may be relaxed to class X certificate holder in case graduates are not easily available, and should be dedicated, motivated, physically fit and healthy and committed to work for the betterment of the welfare of women from the minority communities in particular and the society in general.

The leadership development training scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs through the organizations/institutes. Apart from non-governmental organizations, organizations/institutions which would be eligible for applying for financial assistance under this scheme are given below :-

1. A Society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860,
2. A Public Trust registered under any law for the time being in force,
3. A Charitable Company licensed under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 and
4. Universities/Institutions of higher learning.
5. Panchayati raj institutes.

Expression of Interest is invited by the Government through advertisement in the newspapers and organizations fulfilling the pre-qualification criteria are short listed.

Nurturing/hand holding service envisaged in the scheme linked with involvement and availability of facilitators at the doorsteps of the target group. The personnel of the organization is required to visit the village/locality periodically for providing nurturing/hand-holding service to the group of women imparted training so that they are guided in the use of tools and techniques taught to them for extracting the benefit from their efforts.

The organization, in collaboration with the District Collector/ Deputy Commissioner/ SDO/ Block Development Officer, is required to organize a half day workshop to sensitize government functionaries, bankers including Panchayati Raj functionaries etc. at the district, Sub Division/ Block, etc. concerned about the women empowerment program carried out by them under the scheme. In this workshop, the functionaries would be informed of the remedial action which may be brought and sought by groups of women and to be responsive in addressing their problems and grievances.