11th plan to lay emphasis on women, minorities welfare

Addressing reporters on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the Mid-term appraisal of the 11th Five Year Plan which began on Wednesday, Dr Hameed said the Commission is likely to take up a course correction with regard to the schemes for the poor and the marginalised, as corruption and lack of awareness had badly affected their implementation, she said.

Dr Hameed said the PC had drafted specific schemes for the tribals, dalits, minorities, physically-challenged and deprived children, to improve the quality of life and  have better living standards. She said the global economic slowdown had resulted in shrinking of resources for these programmes, while sectors like handloom and handicraft, the backbone of the poorer sections of the society in many parts of the country, had been affected.
“While we want the schemes for the poor to be demand driven and suitable marketing facility ensured to poor artisans and weavers, we are determined in not allowing the slowdown to hit the health and education sector. This is what we want to ensure during the mid-term appraisal,”she added.

The meeting was organised by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in coordination with Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) and National Alliance of Women.