Source: PIB, Ministry of Women and Child Development & India Today
In the wake of questions raised over the safety and security of women following the Hyderabad gangrape and murder case – The Women and Child Development Ministry has allocated Rs 2,050 crore to various states from the Nirbhaya Fund.
About Nirbhaya fund
- Nirbhaya fund was created in 2013 in the aftermath of December 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder case. Giving in to popular sentiments, the government announced a separate fund for meeting expenditures to ensure the safety of women. The government proposed an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore under the Nirbhaya Fund to ensure the safety of women
- Under the Nirbhaya Fund, the Centre gives money to the states, which in turn spend it on programmes meant for ensuring women’s safety.
- Nodal agency: The Women and Child Development Ministry is the nodal agency for expenditure from the Nirbhaya Fund. Earlier, it was the one releasing the funds but now it examines the programmes submitted to it by the states under the Nirbhaya scheme, approves them and recommends to the Department of Economic affairs for allocating funds.
- The Nirbhaya Fund Framework provides for a non-lapsable corpus fund for the safety and security of women to be administered by the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) of the Ministry of Finance (MoF) of the Government of India.
- Further, it provides for an Empowered Committee (EC) of officers chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Women & Child Development (MWCD) to appraise and recommend proposals to be funded under this framework.
- It also provides for the concerned Ministry/ Department to seek approval of the designated competent financial authority, as well as of the DEA for funding of such proposals under the Nirbhaya Framework.
- As per this framework, the MoF through DEA is the nodal Ministry for any accretion into and withdrawal from the corpus, and the MWCD is responsible to review and monitor the progress of sanctioned projects/ schemes in conjunction with the concerned Central Ministries/ Departments.
- Budget allocations against approved projects are made in the budget of the respective Ministries/ Departments through Demands or Supplementary Demands for Grants.
Funding pattern
The below standard funding pattern will be followed:
- 60:40 for all States o 90:10 for States with difficult terrains
- 100% for UTs
- Few initiatives are 100% funded
The funds for the projects shall be released following the procedure prescribed in GFR 2005.
Present Status of the Fund
- Data tabled the Minister in Parliament in November shows that six states and UTs – Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim, Tripura and Daman & Diu – have not spent a single rupee from the Nirbhaya Fund allocated by the Union home ministry
- The Women and Child Development Ministry release money from the Nirbhaya Fund under four heads including the Mahila Police Volunteer Scheme. A total of 12 states were allocated fund under this scheme.
- But of the 12 states, only four states utilized the Nirbhaya Fund money for the said purpose. The rest did not spend a penny.
Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF)
- Central Victim Compensation Fund (CVCF) has been funded under the Framework of Nirbhaya Fund to support States/ UTs for their Victim Compensation Scheme.
- The CVCF is a one-time grant of top-up funds to the States/UTs subsequent to the directions of Hon’ble Supreme Court.
