Parliament Question: Measures to enhance Female Labour Force Participation Rate

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3837 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25.03.2026 MEASURES TO ENHANCE FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE 3837. SHRI SANA SATHISH BABU: Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state: (a) the steps taken by Government to enhance the Female Labour Force Participation Rate in country during last five years; (b) the details of schemes being implemented by the Ministry aimed at promoting women's economic participation, along with scheme-wise funds allocated, released and utilised in Andhra Pradesh during last five years; (c) the details of infrastructure and support facilities such as creches, skill development centres, and working women hostels created under these schemes, including their locations in Andhra Pradesh; and (d) the measurable outcomes achieved, including women beneficiaries and increase in female labour force participation under these initiatives? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SAVITRI THAKUR) (a) to (d): The Government gives utmost priority to the safety, security and empowerment of women in the country. Government has adopted multi-pronged approach to address the needs of women on a life-cycle continuum basis for their educational, social, economic and political empowerment so that they become equal partners in fast paced and sustainable national development. This ‘Women led development’ is essential for realising the goal of a developed India, or ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing Centrally Sponsored Schemes in the country for the welfare of women and children, which are placed under three verticals, viz. (1) Mission Shakti, for safety, protection and empowerment of women; (2) Saksham Anganwadi & Poshan 2.0 for improving nutrition & health indicators in the country; and (3) Mission Vatsalya, for protection and welfare of children in difficult circumstances. The ‘Mission Shakti’ aims at strengthening interventions for women’s safety, security and empowerment. It seeks to focus on proposing strategies for improving convergence across Ministries/ Departments and at different levels of governance. Mission Shakti comprises of two sub-schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’ for safety and security of women and empowerment of women respectively.The “Sambal” sub-scheme is for safety and security of women. It has the components of One Stop Centres (OSCs), Women Helpline (WHL), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) and Nari Adalat. The “Samarthya” sub scheme is for empowerment of women. It has the components of Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), Shakti Sadan, Sakhi Niwas, Palna and SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW). • Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY)- The PMMVY is a Centrally Sponsored Maternity Benefit Scheme under which cash incentives of ₹5,000/- is provided directly to the Bank/Post Office account of the beneficiary in Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode for first child. The eligible beneficiaries receive the remaining cash incentive, as per approved norms towards maternity benefit under Janani Suraksha Yojana after institutional delivery, so that on an average a woman gets ₹6,000/-. Cash incentive of ₹6,000/- is also provided under PMMVY to eligible beneficiaries for second child subject to the second child being a girl. • Shakti Sadan- Under the overarching ‘Mission Shakti’, erstwhile schemes of ‘Swadhar Greh’ for women in difficult circumstances and ‘Ujjawala Home’ for Prevention of Trafficking, have been merged w.e.f. 01.04.2022 and known as ‘Shakti Sadan Scheme’, which is an Integrated Relief and Rehabilitation Home-for women in distressful situations including trafficked women. It aims at creating a safe and enabling environment for the women in such difficult situations, to enable them to overcome the adverse circumstances. • Sakhi Niwas- The Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel) is a demand driven centrally sponsored scheme, under which funds are released directly to the States/UTs for implementation of the scheme and aims to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women in urban, semi-urban and even rural areas where employment opportunity for women exist. The State Govt. of Andhra Pradesh informed that at present, 23 Sakhi Niwas (WWH) are operational in the State. During the last five financial year, total 19,221 women have been benefitted in the State. The district-wise details, including hostel capacity are provided at Annexure-I. • Palna- Palna Scheme is implemented with the aim of expanding the outreach of crèches to ensure that women everywhere have the opportunity to work and do not drop out from workforce because of care responsibilities. Ministry has extended the services of childcare through Anganwadi cum Crèche (AWCC). This will ensure whole day childcare support ensuring their well-being in a safe and secure environment. Anganwadi cum Crèche initiative aims to increase ‘women work force participation’ in the economy. Palna aims to provide day-care crèche facilities to the children (06 months – 06 years). 108 AWCCs have been approved in the Programme Approval Board (PAB) meetings for the State of Andhra Pradesh. However, as on 23.03.2026, No AWCCs are operational in the State. • SANKALP: Hub for Empowerment of Women (HEW)- The SANKALP: HEW (Hub for Empowerment of Women) which functions as a Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) for all components of Mission Shakti. It serves as a single window system to bridge the information and knowledge gap regarding schemes and facilities available for women as well as guide them to avail the benefits and entitlements. SANKALP: HEW is being implemented in all States/UTs except the State of West Bengal. StateSANKALP: HEWs are functional in 35 States/UTs and District SANKALP: HEWs are functional in 742 districts. The year-wise details of Mission Shakti funds released and utilised in Andhra Pradesh during last five years is at Annexure-II. The official data source on Employment and Unemployment is Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) which is conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. As per the latest available Annual PLFS reports, the estimated Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) on usual status for females of age 15 years and above during 2021-22 to 2023-24 are as follows: Financial Year LFPR (in %) 2021-22 32.8 2022-23 37.0 2023-24 41.7 Source: PLFS, MoSPI The data indicates that the female labour force participation has an increasing trend over the years in the country. Enhancing female labour force participation is a cross-cutting issue. In alignment with this objective, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) undertakes various initiatives to promote gender equality and facilitate greater workforce participation among women. Central to increasing women’s workforce participation is the investment in care economy. The Government aims to expand the existing and put in place new public care infrastructure and services to enable women to participate in the workforce, such as the expansion of affordable and quality childcare services, working women’s hostels in urban areas and industrial hubs. Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. Government is implementing various schemes to boost the female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR). The details of various employment generation schemes/programmes being implemented by the Government may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/schemes_programmes. In order to encourage employment of women, the four Labour Codes - the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 have been implemented with effect from 21st November 2025, rationalizing 29 erstwhile labour laws. These labour codes have various provisions to promote female labour force participation such as: - i. Proportionate representation of women in Grievance Redressal Committee to ensure their voices are included in workplace dispute resolutions. ii. Up to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave, along with 12 weeks for adoptive and commissioning mothers and allowing remote work after maternity leave where feasible.iii. Prohibition of gender-based discrimination in matters of wages and conditions of employment for the same or similar work. iv. Promoting creche facilities for children below the age of six to help working mothers balance work and family life. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 has allowed women to be employed in all establishments for all types of work and may also be employed with their consent before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. subject to condition relating to safety, holidays and working hours. The Code also provides that adequate safeguards are to be provided by establishments before engaging women in any hazardous or dangerous processes. In addition, the Ministry of Labour and Employment in January, 2024 issued an “Advisory for Employers to Promote Women Workforce Participation”. This advisory inter-alia mentions the need for balance between employment and care responsibilities for both men and women including family friendly measures such as paternity leave, parental leave, family emergency leave and flexible working arrangements. *****Annexure-I ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 3837 FOR ANSWER ON 25.03.2026 REGARDING "MEASURES TO ENHANCE FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE" The district-wise details, including hostel capacity under Sakhi Niwas Scheme in the State of Andhra Pradesh. Sl. District Address Capacity No 1 Working Women Hostel, Door No: 29 - 16 - 3, C.V.R Compound, 60 NTR District Gopalreddy Road Vijayawada -2 2 Working Women Hostel, Badurlapeta, Near Collector Office, Srikakulam 50 Srikakulam 3 Working Women Hostel, B.C. Colony, Opp District Court, V.T. 45 Vizianagaram Agraharam, Vizianagaram 4 Working Women Hostel, Door No.51-8-40, Near Eenadu Rythu Bazaar, 75 Vishakapatnam – 1 Seethammadhara, Visakhapatnam, 530013 5 Working Women Hostel, Door No.51-8-40, Near Eenadu Rythu Bazaar, 50 Vishakapatnam – 2 Seethammadhara, Visakhapatnam, 530013 6 Working Women Hostel, Opposite SKR Women’s College, Danavaipeta, 60 Raja-mahendravaram Rajamahendravaram 7 Working Women Hostel, J.V R Nagar, beside ACB office, Eluru 60 Eluru 8 Working Women Hostel, Mahila Pranganam Campus, Guntur 60 Guntur 9 Working Women Hostel, Police Colony, Dargamitta, Nellore 524004 60 Nellore 10 Working Women Hostel, Near Silver Jubilee College, 50/706-D, B-Camp, 60 Kurnool Kurnool 11 Working Women Hostel, D.No.1-5-599/KI, Revenue Ward, Balaji Colony, 50 Tirupati Tirupathi 12 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC 50 Visakhapatnam Location – 38-28-10, Near R&B office, FCI nagar, Marripalem-530018 13 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 50 Ananthapuram - Service Home Compound, Beside APSPDCL, 515001 14 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Kadapa Ramaraju Palle, 15 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Prakasam Edulurudonka, Santha-nuthalapadu Mandal, 16 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Rajahmundry, - Bommuru, 17 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Tirupathi Tiruchanur, Tirupathi Rural 18 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Nellore Vedayapalem, Gandhinagar,19 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC 100 Visakhapatnam Location - Pineapple Colony , Mudasarlova, 20 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, Hyderabad 100 Guntur Town, Guntur 21 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC 100 Srikakulam Location - Etcherla, Srikakulam 22 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, Madanaplem Village in Satyavedu 100 Satya-vedu MandaL, Chittoor Manda, Chittoor 23 Working Women Hostel, APWCFC, 100 Vijayanagaram C.T. Agraharam, Vijayanagaram TOTAL 1730Annexure-II ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN THE REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (D) OF THE RAJYA SABHA UN-STARRED QUESTION NO. 3837 FOR ANSWER ON 25.03.2026 REGARDING "MEASURES TO ENHANCE FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE" Year-wise and scheme-wise details of funds released and utilised in Andhra Pradesh during last five years. Amount in Lakhs Scheme FY 2022-23 FY 2023-24 FY 2024-25 FY 2025-26 Released Utilised* Released Utilised Released Utilised* Release Utilised d Mission Sh7994.44 9874.57 7655.91 6363.38 5050.06 7837.86 4388.48 1921.5 akti * Utilised amount may include fund released in previous financial year(s). *****