Nai Roshni is a Central sector scheme for leadership development among women of minority communities aged 18 to 65 years. The scheme empowers minority women with the help of NGOs and various other civil societies nationwide. The Ministry of Minority Affairs Government of India runs the Nai Roshni scheme. 

The topic nai Roshni is very important for UPSC IAS Exam preparation as it falls under the Social justice and empowerment section of the General Studies Paper 2 Syllabus of the UPSC Mains examination.

What is Nai Roshni Scheme?

The Ministry started the "Nai Roshni" program in 2012-13. This aimed to empower minority women and others in their villages. The program teaches skills to deal with banks and offices. Women's empowerment helps achieve equality. It also reduces poverty and grows the economy. Within poor families, women and children suffer most. Empowering mothers is key as they shape the next generation.

The initiative encourages minority women to leave their homes. They can take on leadership roles and demand their rights. Both together and alone, they get services, skills and opportunities. They can claim a fair share of government benefits to improve life. The program works with NGOs, societies, and offices nationwide. It offers leadership, education, health, cleanliness, money, life skills, legal rights, digital skills, and social change classes.

History of Nai Roshni Scheme

• The status of women in India, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, is unfavorable. Discrimination against girls begins even before birth and continues afterward in resource allocation for food, education, and healthcare.
• Rural women often bear a double burden, handling household tasks like cooking and childcare alongside agricultural labor. Men typically engage in specific income-generating activities.
• Women from minority communities face challenges as well, being marginalized and excluded from decision-making within their families and communities.
• Empowering women is crucial not only for equity but also for poverty reduction, economic growth, and strengthening civil society. Women and children suffer the most in impoverished families.
• The Sachar Committee Report highlighted the doubly disadvantaged position of Muslim women in India's largest minority group.
• To address these issues, the Ministry of Minority Affairs reformulated and renamed the scheme "Nai Roshni - The Scheme for Leadership Development of Minority Women" in 2011-12, starting implementation in 2012-13.
• Based on the first year's experience, modifications were made to improve the scheme's reach and effectiveness. The Standing Finance Committee appraised it on March 6, 2013, and it was implemented during the 12th Five Year Plan.
• The scheme is now planned for implementation during the remaining period of the 14th Finance Commission, from 2017-18 to 2019-20, with details outlined in subsequent paragraphs.

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Objectives of the Nai Roshni Scheme

The Nai Roshni scheme has the following important objectives.

• This scheme is a social welfare scheme with the primary aim of developing leadership quality in minority women in India.
• Nai Roshani’s project also aims to fight the gender inequality prevalent in Indian society.
• To enable minority women to raise their voices against exploitation and stand for their social and human rights.
• To make minority women socially, intellectually, economically empowered, and independent.
• To increase the contribution of women in nation-building.

Target Groups under the Nai Roshni Scheme

• As mentioned, the nai Roshani scheme targets women from minority communities, including Muslim Jain, Buddhist, Christian, and Parsi communities, which are notified under the National Commission for Minorities Act 1992, Section 2 (C).
• Considering India's diversity, this scheme also allows the inclusion of women from nonminority communities to install a feeling of togetherness, which is an all-inclusive development.
• However, representation from other communities shall be, at most, the 25% strength of the proposed project.
• Special focus should be laid on recruiting women from SC, ST, and OBC categories in this 25% mix.

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Eligibility Criteria for Nai Roshni Scheme

• Providing nurturing and handholding services in the scheme, combined with advocacy, is a labor-intensive effort. It demands constant engagement and facilitator availability within the target community.
• The organization implementing the scheme must regularly visit villages or localities to support women who have received leadership development training. This ensures they can effectively apply the tools and techniques they've learned.
• Field-intensive activities are best suited for highly motivated and dedicated community-based organizations. These organizations should possess the necessary experience, personnel, and resources to conduct training in the women's residential areas.
• Organizations should also be capable of arranging residential training either in government institutes or their facilities.
• Eligible organizations for Grants-in-Aid under this scheme include registered societies, public trusts, nonprofit companies, recognized universities and higher learning institutions, government training institutes, women's cooperative societies, state channelizing agencies, and NGOs falling within the defined categories.

Major Activities of Nai Roshni Scheme

The Nai Roshni Scheme focuses on various significant activities:

• Leadership Training: Providing leadership training to empower minority women to participate in decision-making processes actively.
• Life Skills Education: Imparting life skills education to enhance their self-confidence, communication abilities, and decision-making skills.
• Rights and Entitlements Awareness: Raising awareness about legal rights and entitlements among minority women to help them access government schemes and benefits.
• Financial and Digital Literacy: Promoting financial literacy and digital skills to improve their economic independence and financial management.
• Community Mobilization: Encouraging community participation and mobilization to address common issues and challenges.
• Skill Development: Offering skill development training to enhance employability and income-generating opportunities for minority women.
• Support for Women's Self-Help Groups: Facilitating the formation and strengthening of women's self-help groups for mutual support and economic empowerment.
• Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Promoting sanitation and hygiene practices as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• Health and Nutrition: Addressing health and nutrition issues among minority women and their families.

How Will Nai Roshni Scheme Operate?

• The scheme will be implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) in collaboration with NGOs and other government agencies.
• The scheme will target women belonging to minority communities in the age group of 18 to 65 years.
• The training will be conducted in six-day non-residential and five-day residential modes. The training modules will cover the below topics:
  • health and hygiene, 
  • legal rights of women, 
  • financial literacy, 
  • digital literacy, 
  • Swachh Bharat, 
  • life skills, and 
  • advocacy for social and behavioral changes.
• The scheme will also provide financial assistance to the trainees to help them start their businesses or take up employment opportunities.

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Training Modules Under Nai Roshni Scheme

Here is the list of the training modules under the Nai Roshni Scheme:

• Leadership
• Health and Hygiene
• Legal Rights of Women
• Financial Literacy
• Digital Literacy
• Swachh Bharat
• Life Skills
• Advocacy for Social and Behavioural Changes

Need of Nai Roshni Scheme

The Nai Roshani scheme has women empowerment at its core, an essential part of the mission for equitable and inclusive social development.

• Nai Roshni scheme is also a critical element in our fight against the evil of poverty, strengthening civil society and bolstering India's economic growth.
• Another important need for a scheme like this is that women and children are the most vulnerable and worst affected sections by poverty. Therefore, Nai Roshni schemes will help care for the vulnerable section of society.

Significance of the Nai Roshni Scheme 

The Nai Roshni scheme is a significant step towards the gender equality goal. The following points can help understand Nai Roshni Scheme benefits:

• The Nai Roshni project is crucial to India's poverty eradication, economic development, and social inclusion efforts.
• Its successful execution will safeguard children and women from vulnerability to poverty.
• Nai Roshni is a significant step toward ensuring government benefits reach minority women, improving their lives and living standards.
• This initiative will boost the confidence of minority women and empower them to assume leadership roles in various aspects of life.
• Nai Roshni will enhance minority women's access to services, skills, and opportunities outside their homes, contributing to a better life and society.

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Niti Aayog Study on the Efficacy of the Nai Roshni Scheme

The Apex think tank of India, Niti Aayog, carried out an efficacy study of the Nai Roshni project. Some important points of this efficacy study are-

• The efficacy study was conducted in 8 States (Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Punjab), covering around 15 districts, 87 villages, and 25 + NGOs.
• The scheme has been well-received by most of the segments of the society's population.
• The scheme has helped in creating confidence among minority women and developing leadership spirit in them.
• The trained women are also utilizing their enriched knowledge within their surroundings. They are thus helping their families and neighbors raise their essential demands and claims from various Government authorities.
• The scheme has helped improve the socio-economic status of minority women and their families.
• The scheme has also helped in promoting social harmony and communal amity.

Other Schemes for Minority People in India

• USTAAD (Upgrading the Skills and Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development)
• Seekho aur Kamao
• Nai Manzil
• Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls scholarships
• Garib Nawaz Employment Scheme

Also, read the article on PM Kisan Sampada Yojana here!

Nai Roshni Scheme: Facts and Figures for UPSC

• Launch Year- 2012-13
• Ministry- Ministry Of Minority Affairs
• Type- Leadership Development Scheme for Minority Communities Women
• Coverage- Pan-India
• Target Group- Minority community (Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis) women aged 18-65 years
• Current Status- Clubbed under the PM-VIKAS Yojana along with four other schemes.

Current Status of Nai Roshni Scheme 

According to the Government of India, a number of Rupees 26 crore was sanctioned from 2018-19 to 2021-22 under the Nai Roshni scheme, through which around 1 lakh women got the training.

• In the last 3 years, the number of beneficiaries and fund allocation has declined for the Nai Roshni scheme.
• This decline can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2019, but the allocations are still low even after 2 years of the pandemic.
• In the financial year 202-23, 5 employment schemes for minorities, including Sikho aur Kamao, Ustaad, Hamari Dharohar, Nai Manzil, and Nai Roshni, are merged under a single umbrella scheme called the Pradhanmantri Virasat ka Samvardhan scheme (PM VIKAS).

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Way Forward

The Nai Roshni scheme is a step in the right direction as far as women’s empowerment and gender equality are concerned. But we need more such schemes to target specific social groups efficiently and effectively. There is also a need to increase the funding and number of projects under the scheme to ensure deeper and better penetration of the Nai Roshni Scheme.

The decreased funding and beneficiaries in the past 3 years is a major cause of concern and must be addressed as soon as possible.

Conclusion

India is a massive country and even the minority account for a staggering 25 crore plus population. The Nai Roshni Scheme provides a much-needed inclusion of women from minority communities in our fight towards women empowerment and fighting against poverty.

Nai Roshni scheme highlights the government’s efforts towards bringing women into the main street of society and enhancing their contribution towards society as well as the economic upliftment of India. The scheme is a genuine effort towards achieving the goal of Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas and Sabka Vishwas and taking India towards Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.

This scheme will also help India in achieving Sustainable Development Goal number 1 ‘’To end the poverty of all kinds’’ and also Sustainable Development Goal number 5 ‘’To achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.’’

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