What does it take to empower ordinary women in India? One of the methods that governments have tried over the years is to design direct-be...
What does it take to empower ordinary women in India?
One of the methods that governments have tried over the years is to design direct-benefit schemes exclusively for women.
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, for instance, gives women below the poverty line a free cooking gas cylinder, along with subsidies paid into their bank accounts. The Centre’s Janani Suraksha Yojana offers maternity benefits in the form of Rs 6,000 to adult women who deliver their first child in a medical institution. There are pension schemes for widows and a variety of state-level schemes offering benefits in cash or kind to women and girls.
The latest to hit the headlines are schemes planned by competing political parties in Tamil Nadu in an attempt to woo women in the run up to the state Assembly election on April 6.
First, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam promised that it would give Rs 1,000 per month to women from families that had ration cards that make them eligible for subsidised rations. A week later, on March 8, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam upped the ante by offering Rs 1,500 per month to the same group of women.
While the parties have not yet offered clarity on who exactly the beneficiaries of this programme would...
