Micro-credit Development Bureau
                                                      Department of Women and Child Development

SWAYAMSIDHA
(IWEP)

 Salient Project Details

1.  Background:   It is envisaged to recast Indira Mahila Yojana (IMY) into an integrated programme for women’s empowerment, renamed Swayamsidha (IWEP), and to expand it from the existing 238 blocks to 650 blocks by the end of the IX Plan (31-3-2002).

         2. Vision:  The vision of IWEP is to develop empowered women who will:

                  Demand their rights from family, community and government;

      Have increased access to, and control over, material, social and political resources;

     Have enhanced awareness and improved skills; and

    Be able to raise issues of common concern through mobilisation and networking.

3. Objectives:  With the long-term objective being the all-round empowerment of women, especially socially and economically, by ensuring their direct access to, and control over, resources through a sustained process of mobilisation and convergence of all the on-going sectoral programmes, the immediate objectives are as below:

  Establishment of self-reliant women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs);

  Creation of confidence and awareness among members of SHGs regarding women’s   status, health, nutrition, education, sanitation and hygiene, legal rights, economic upliftment and other social, economic and political issues;

Strengthening and institutionalizing the savings habit in rural women and their control over economic resources;

Improving access of women to micro credit;

Involvement of women in local level planning; and

Convergence of services of DWCD and other Departments.

     4. Features:

Women will be encouraged to form groups according to their socio-economic status and felt-needs, after which they will network with other groups;

Association of Government and Panchayat Officials/Office-bearers as participants/ facilitators;

Both Government departments/agencies and NGOs, as also district/intermediary level panchayat institutions, will be eligible to implement the project at the block level;

Office-bearers of IWEP Societies will be elected from amongst the women members, including ex-officio women members;

In addition to empowering SHG members per se, by federating and  networking strong pressure groups for women’s empowerment/rights will be formed;

A subsidy-free approach to women’s empowerment will be inculcated; and

Convergence of different agencies for women’s empowerment and integrated projects accessing delivery of different schemes from a single window.

5. The Scheme: State Governments will identify Nodal Departments for implementing the IWEP and will act through the respective nodal departments so identified for implementing the Scheme.  The nodal departments will identify block/s-level implementing agencies called Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs). A PIA may be any appropriate agency, Governmental or Non-governmental, including district/ intermediary level panchayat institutions, as also NGOs or Government departments/organisations. The PIAs will submit block specific projects, which would be integrated projects incorporating not only the core issues of SHG formation/mobilisation under IWEP but also encompassing other activities under various schemes which are envisaged to be converged with the core activities of IWEP. The Nodal Departments will be actively involved in the preparation of projects by PIAs.  Accordingly, composite projects for 4-5 years incorporating the following four elements will be submitted by the PIAs, for which they would be reimbursed Rs. 10,000 in case the project is sanctioned:

Group formation/mobilisation activities;

Community oriented innovative interventions;

Other schemes of DWCD, namely NORAD, STEP, SEP and AGP, and other schemes, too, if there is a felt need for the same; and

Schemes of other departments, whether converged under GOI directions or State Government initiative.

5.1              The PIA will be responsible to put an effective supervisory and monitoring system in place before commencement of the project and will have to provide full details of the same separately in the project proposal. 

5.2              Group formation/mobilisation activities: In every block PIAs will be involved in formation of, on an average, 100 SHGs (50 in the erstwhile IMY blocks) at the sub-village / village level at a remuneration of about Rs.2750 for successful formation of each group.  If, after an appropriate appraisal, the designated functionary of the nodal department certifies, on primarily objective criteria, that an excellent group has been formed, Rs.750 for every excellent group so certified to be formed will be granted as an additionality for funding further project related activities or capacity building of the PIAs / SHGs/Block Societies (sans hardware).  Alternately, in case a project chooses to follow any low cost strategy for group formation, the balance amount up to Rs. 2750 per group will again be available for the aforesaid purpose. It may be clarified that a provision of Rs. 7.85 lakh is available for Group formation/ mobilisation, Training, MIS, Capacity building, Networking, Pre-project activities, etc. with no further inter se differentiation, and, accordingly, the afore-mentioned figure for group formation cost is only indicative, with the actual figure varying from project to project, depending upon the nature of the implementing agency, strategy adopted, etc.   However, the additionality admissible for every excellent group formed will be limited to Rs. 750 and to qualify for an additionality by virtue of a low cost strategy, the group formation cost would be taken to be Rs. 2750. 

5.3              Training and capacity building, both of the Government/PIA functionaries and SHG members, a baseline survey as an initial requisite, documentation and an end-line survey will be other important ingredients.

5.4              Each group will have 15-20 members, with one leader/ key person, with attempts being made to have homogenous groups of the same socio-economic status.  All groups at the sub-village / village level will federate by sending one representative each at the village level to form Village Societies (VSs). On an average, per block, 50 new SHGs in the erstwhile IMY Blocks, 100 new SHGs in new Blocks, 25 new VSs in the erstwhile IMY Blocks and 50 new VSs in the new Blocks are envisaged to be formed.  Women Groups formed under other Government sponsored programme like DWCRA, Mahila Samakhya, Mahila Swastha Sangh, Yuvati Kendras, etc. will also participate in such federations.  Where such clusters or federations are already available in sufficient strength, IWEP will be linked with them without creating a parallel network. The VSs in a block will federate at the block level by sending one representative each to form Block Societies (BSs).  Village level Government functionaries like Village Postmaster, Primary School Headmaster, Village Patwari, Village Development functionary, Village Panchayat functionary, etc. and women Panchayat office-bearers would be ex-officio members of VSs and Block level Government functionaries like Block Development Officer, Branch Post Master, Block Medical Officer, ICDS CDPO, Assistant/Junior Engineer PWD/PHE/Irrigation, Block level Agriculture Officer, etc. and women Panchayat office-bearers would be ex-officio members of BSs. Respective State Governments will indicate the Government functionaries to be included in the VSs/BSs.  To ensure that VSs are not over- dominated by ex-officio members, the PIA may choose at most 3 ex-officio members, from the list indicated by the State Government, who are most suitable to the needs of the SHGs in a particular village, to be included in its VS.  At the block level, however, all functionaries indicated by the State Government may be included in the BSs as there is little danger of the BSs being over-dominated by the ex-officio members.   The respective chairpersons would be elected from amongst all VS/BS members, including women ex-officio members.  BSs would be registered as autonomous societies under the Societies Registration Act, for which Rs. 5000 would be provided separately in the project. Registration of VSs would not be mandatory; however, if there are sufficient number of SHGs in a particular village and/or if they so desire, they may get their VS registered but for that no specific allocation will be available in the project.  Under no circumstances will the SHGs be registered. 

5.5              As the target for new SHGs/VSs in the erstwhile IMY Blocks is lower than that for new blocks, the comparatively additional resources available would be optimally used in activities other than Group Formation per se, i.e., for training, MIS, Capacity Building, Group Mobilisation, etc.

5.6       Thus, Networking between SHGs and Association with Panchayat institutions and Govt. functionaries will also be important ingredients. 

5.7        Community oriented innovative interventions: An innovative feature of IWEP would be that small community oriented innovative interventions, wherein small works, for creation of community assets, would be taken up either by the PIA or by the SHG/s to strengthen the process of group formation/ mobilisation/ stabilisation.  For this, an amount of Rs. 6 lakh per block would be available as Government of India share.  SHGs would have to contribute 40% of the project cost as their group-share but would also have the freedom to access any other Government of India/State Government/Panchayat funds (e.g. Rural Development funds, Devolution funds for Panchayat) and to dovetail the same with the 60% contribution from Government of India funds under this scheme.  The specific works to be taken up will be decided by the SHGs with facilitation by the PIA and will be approved by the District Level Steering Committee (DLSC) or by a mechanism/delegation decided by the State Level Steering Committee (SLSC).

5.8        Integration of other schemes of Department of Women and Child Development, GOI (DWCD): The PIAs would submit integrated projects incorporating not only the core issues of SHG formation, etc. under IWEP but also encompassing activities under other schemes of this Department, specifically, Setting up of Employment and Income Generating training-cum-production Units for Women (NORAD), Support to Training and Employment Programme (STEP), Socio- Economic Programme (SEP) and Awareness Generation Programme (AGP), and other schemes, also, if there is a felt-need for the same at the local level.  For this, 20% of the annual allocation at GOI level under NORAD, STEP, SEP and AGP will be earmarked for the IWEP blocks.  It is clarified that the additional funds under the aforementioned four schemes will be used as per the schematic pattern for the said four schemes without any overall financial ceiling for any individual scheme.  For other schemes, based on felt need at the local level, required sanction will be given by DWCD at the time of sanctioning the integrated project submitted by the PIA (in case the proposal for any specific activity under any specific scheme of DWCD is contained in the project and approved).  

5.9       Thus, in the IWEP blocks, there would be only two main schemes of DWCD namely ICDS and IWEP.  All other schemes would be integrated with IWEP in the IWEP blocks. 

5.10   Convergence of related schemes of other departments/ ministries, whether of State Governments or of GOI: When a project is recommended by the State level Screening and Review Committee (SRC), the State Government would also propose its schemes, which would be converged with IWEP in the concerned block.  At the GOI level, various departments/ministries, like Rural Development, Social Justice and Empowerment, Agriculture, Health & Family Welfare and Urban Development, would be advised to set apart 5-10% of the annual outlays of related schemes for sanction of projects in IWEP blocks and for that purpose an Inter-Departmental Coordinating Committee (IDCC) would be set up for optimising convergence.  

5.11     Note:  In the erstwhile IMY blocks the implementation of IMY was entrusted to the Department responsible for Women & Child Development at the State level and was generally undertaken by the CDPO setup at the block level.  In the recast IMY, i.e., IWEP, a project approach would be followed and the PIA may not necessarily be a Government Department/ Organisation.   However, while this will also be true for the erstwhile IMY blocks, seeing the previous experience/work done by the CDPO setup in the erstwhile IMY blocks, the logical first choice for a PIA in those blocks would be the CDPO setup in case the earlier work of the CDPO setup had been satisfactory and there is no outstanding alternate agency readily discernable.  Thus, in the erstwhile IMY blocks choice of an agency for IWEP other than the CDPO setup should be made carefully at a very responsible level and the reasons, both for either retaining the CDPO setup or for going in for an alternative agency, should be clearly recorded by the nodal department while submitting a project to the SRC and the SRC should also record its categorical observations on the same.

6. Phasing: By the very nature of the project, it will have the following natural phases:

Phase 1: Formation of Self-Help Groups

Phase 2: Group Stabilisation and Growth

Phase 3: Sustainability and self-reliance

 7.     Sustainability: IWEP is expected to create self reliant and sustainable institutions, which prioritise women’s needs and interests and bring about the social and economic empowerment of women, by the end of the project period, with the SHGs/ Societies (VSs & BSs) being sustainable entities.  The Societies, especially BSs, are expected to provide the required leadership/motivation for sustained activities after the project period without any subsequent additional expenditure.

8.  PIAs will submit block specific projects through the nodal department in such association with the district level Steering Committee as the State Government may prescribe to the SRC and after SRC’s recommendations the same will be considered and approved for a few model projects by a National level Project Sanctioning Committee (PSC).  Subsequently, State level SRCs, or district level like SRCs, would approve block specific projects in the light of the model projects approved by PSC.

9. Disbursement of Funds:  It may be clarified that the block specific projects will be sanctioned under the basic principle of sanctioning grants–in-aid, i.e., reimbursement of actual expenditure undertaken on a voluntary basis in the discharge of a social welfare activity.  The disbursement schedule for each project, listing the phases in which installments will be released, with the first installment being a clear advance, subsequent installments being disbursed in advance but upon suitable proof of satisfactory utilisation of the previous installment & satisfactory achievement of the physical activities envisaged to be completed with the previous installment and the final accounting being completed & the final physical progress being achieved with the last installment, will be proposed by the PIA and approved by the PSC/SRC as the case may be.  Nodal departments/ PIAs may be emphasized upon to build objective benchmarks/ milestones, wherever feasible, the achievement of which may trigger release of installments.  However, certain subsequent activities will obviously be depend upon the satisfactory completion of some pre-requisite activities, and, the same would have to be kept in view while forming the schedule and criteria for disbursement of related installments.  Project funds will be released to State Governments/nodal departments, with the State Governments first delegating the responsibility of releasing installments to the SRC for a few model cases and subsequently delegating it to the DLSCs or the district level SRCs if and when the same are formed.

    10.  Selection of Blocks: While all the 238 erstwhile IMY blocks will be retained the new 212+200  = 412 blocks will be selected keeping in view the following: -

Preference will be given to areas where similar schemes do not exist and there is no group movement; 

social indicators are unfavourable to women;

State Government is committing additional resources and linkages for women’s development; and

Priority will be given to blocks having a large number of population below the poverty line and high proportion of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe population.

   11.  Key Committees:

(i)   SRC: headed by Secretary in charge of Women & Child Development, with composition to be decided by the respective State Governments.  SRC would initially recommend projects to PSC and thereafter sanction projects on the basis of model projects approved by PSC.  Identical SRCs may be subsequently formed at the district level if the NLSC so deems fit.

(ii)  PSC: headed by Secretary (DWCD) and comprising of FA (DWCD), ED (RMK), JS in charge of IWEP, DS in charge of IWEP and representative from Education, Health, Rural Development and Urban Development Departments.  PSC would initially sanction a few model projects and subsequently delegate the sanctioning power to State level/ District level SRCs.

(iii) Steering Committees at the level of GOI under the chairpersonship of Secretary (DWCD), called the National Level Steering Committee (NLSC), at the State level SLSC under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary and at the district level DLSC under the chairmanship of Collector/CDO/CEO as the State Government may prescribe, with composition to be decided by Secretary (DWCD) and respective State Governments, respectively. Steering Committees would be charged with the overall supervision and monitoring of the project at the respective levels.  Steering Committee at the District level would also be charged with preparation and execution of annual plans under the project and evaluating SHGs for being eligible for addtionalities for excellent groups. NLSC would be empowered to make such changes in operational matters, as it may deem necessary for the successful implementation of the project.  

(iv)  Coordinating Committee at the level of GOI (IDCC) under the chairmanship of Secretary (DWCD), with composition to be decided by Secretary (DWCD). IDCC would be charged with optimizing convergence.

12.      Project Implementation Cell (PIC) at the National Level: Seeing that IWEP is a 4-5 year, Rs. 116.30 crore, project, it is appropriate to have an apt project implementation cell for the scheme, having sufficient expertise and flexibility, also incorporating hiring of contractual staff and obtaining the services of deputationists.  Thus, while the staff originally sanctioned for MSY would be used for implementing IWEP, certain changes, as afore-indicated, will be made but within the overall expenditure ceiling for the originally sanctioned MSY Staff.  The formation of PIC would be finalised by DWCD in concurrence with the Finance Ministry.

13. Note: No additional staff, whatsoever, will be sanctioned at the State/District/Block level.  However, some administrative expenses will be admissible at all the three said levels.

14.      BUDGET: The budget would be as below:

14.1.      Total Project Cost:

i.             Per block 7.85 + 6.00 + 0.35 = Rs. 14.20 lakh

ii.           For 650 blocks, 14.20 x 650 = Rs. 9230 lakh

iii.        State/UT level expenses Rs. 1600 lakh

iv.        National level expenses Rs. 800 lakh

v.           Total: Rs. 116.30 crore, of which Rs. 36.65 crore would be in the IX Plan.

 14.2.      Note: 1. In the IMY scheme sanctioned in 1995, Rs. 6 lakh per block for 120 IMKs per block and Rs. 10,000 per block for associating NGOs was disbursed for 200 blocks.   Any amount unspent on the date of launch of IWEP would not be spent under the earlier scheme but would be adjusted towards the per block allocation under IWEP.

14.3      In the erstwhile IMY Blocks, in case IMBSs have been registered  earlier, no allocation of Rs. 5000 for the registration of BSs would be given.

15.              State Governments’ Contribution: State Governments will commit funds to individual projects from the women development schemes in the state sector.  They will also contribute to any additionality to the administrative expenses at the state, district and block levels in case the proportion of such funds provided under the scheme is not sufficient to cover these expenses. 

16.      Coverage under IWEP:

Year	No. of Blocks	No of new SHGs 17. (@ average 50 for erstwhile IMY Block and 100 for new Block)	Estimated new Women beneficiaries (@ average 17.5 per SHG)	No. of new VSs (@ average 25 new VSs for erstwhile IMY Blocks and 50 new VSs for new Blocks)
2000-2001	450 (including the existing 238 blocks under IMY)	33,100	5,79,250	16,550
2001-2002	200	20,000	3,50,000	10,000
Total	650	53,100	9,29,250	26,550

17.              Merger of MSY: The Mahila Samriddhi Yojana (MSY), aimed at encouraging thrift among women through tiny savings, would be merged with IWEP.   Accordingly, while the 25% incentive given to account holder would be discontinued, one of the many objectives of IWEP, viz., strengthening and institutionalizing the saving habit of rural women and their control over economic resources, would, to a large extent, cover the basic objective of inculcating thrift.

18.            Awards: From the allocation at the National level, suitable awards [sans cash to any individual (in contrast to a group)] will be disbursed to Government/ PIA/SHG/BS/VS functionaries, with the exact scheme being framed by PSC. 

19.           Involvement of other agencies: Various functions of supervision, control, mid-term review and evaluation, both at the state level and at the national level, could be transferred to other agencies like NIPCCD, RMK, CSWB and other similar agencies, not precluding private agencies with proven capabilities, to induct their specific expertise, with a suitable decision taken by the NLSC.

20.             Mid term review:  Individual projects will undergo midterm review and based on the finding thereof, mid course correction/discontinuation will be sanctioned with the approval of the PSC, within the overall budgetary allocation for each block. The expenses for mid term evaluations will be borne from funds allocated at the National and State level, with the exact modalities to be decided by the NLSC.

21.              Evaluation:  Due emphasis will be given to evaluation, incorporating inputs from the baseline and end-line surveys, appropriate field-appraisals and other mechanisms, on a continuous basis, with the exact modalities to be finalised by the PSC/SRC.   The requisite funds will be provided from within the lump sum allocation from the National/State level, with the exact modalities being decided by the NLSC.

22.              Note: Unless revised or unless the same are in conflict with specific instructions issued with respect to IWEP, detailed guidelines/instructions on various aspects issued earlier with respect to IMY shall be applicable mutatis mutandis to IWEP.

 Dated: 7.6.2001

(E&OE)

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