Swadhar

The STEP Scheme had evolved in 1986 after the National Commission for Self Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector has made a situational review of women in the informal sector and had suggested introduction of protective measures which would ensure guarantee of employment and income generation, minimum wages, welfare and support services, training and upgradation of skills.

The programme of STEP advocates the objective of extending training for upgradation of skills and sustainable employment for women through a variety of action oriented projects, which employ women in large numbers. The Scheme covers 8 traditional sectors of employment, viz., Agriculture, Small Animal Husbandry, Dairying, Fisheries, Handlooms, Handicrafts, Khadi and Village Industries and Sericulture. Two more sectors, namely, Social Forestry and Waste Land Development have been added later.

The programme of STEP aims to make a significant impact on women in traditional sectors by upgrading skills and providing employment to such women on a project basis by mobilizing women in viable groups, improving skills, arranging for productive assets, creating backward and forward linkages, improving/arranging for support services, providing access to credit, awareness generation, gender sensitization, nutrition education, sensitization of project functionaries. Thus, STEP advocates an integrated package of inputs aiming at the integrated development of poor women in traditional sectors. The ultimate endeavour of each project should be to develop the group to thrive on a self-sustaining basis in the market place with the minimal Governmental support and intervention after the project period is over.

Provide training for skill upgradation,

Mobilising women in small viable groups and making facilities available through training and
access to credit.

Enabling groups of women to take up employment-cum-income generation programmes
of their own.

Provide support services for further improving training and employment conditions of
women.

The scheme aims at providing an integrated package of the following services to women to enable them economically more viable, independent and raise their socio-economic status.

Upgradation of skills through training.

Better and sustainable employment opportunities.

Backward and forward linkages.

Facilitation of organization of women.

  Support services with the coverage of :
                  - Health Check-ups,
                  - Referral services,
                  - Mobile Creches,
                  - Education facilities

The target group to be covered under the STEP Programme includes marginalized, assetless, rural women and urban poor with special focus on SC/ST households, women headed households and families below the poverty line.

The Scheme is proposed to be implemented through Public Sector Organisations, District Rural Development Agencies, Federations, Cooperative and Voluntary Organisations – Non-Governmental Voluntary Organisations working in rural areas with legal status as a society registered under the Societies Registration Act of 1860 or under the Corresponding State Acts. In Haryana State, Women Development corporation is the Nodal Agency for implementation of the scheme. Programme Officers(ICDS) at the district level and CDPOs at the block level are the Nodal officers. Recipients of financial assistance under STEP are required to be bodies, organizations or agencies working in rural areas, although their Headquarters may be located in an urban area. They must be registered at least for three years (experience/existence in the sector concerned) at the time of approaching for assistance. Implementing agency will also identify a set of link agencies, which would facilitate the implementation of the project through their expertise, resources and experience. Link agencies would also include Voluntary Organizations active in the field of employment and women’s development. While selecting NGOs, it should be ensured that they have adequate infrastructure and technical expertise in the sector, financial soundness with facilities, resources, experience and administrative capabilities for undertaking the project.

In Haryana State, Women Development Corporation in the Nodal Agency for implementing of this scheme. Programme Officers (ICDS) at the District Level and CDPOs at the block level of Women & Child Development Department and District Managers of Haryana Women Development Corporation are the Nodal Officers.

State Empowered Committee in the State has been formed which is headed by the Secretary/Commissioner, Women & Child Development Department. The Project Empowered Committee in the State ensures that the documentation is complete in all respects and the organization recommended for the project will be capable of completing the same within the stipulated time. The Constitution of the committee has been made vide notification No. 2221-SW(3) 2002 dated 4.6.2002 which is reproduced as below :-

In pursuance of the contents contained in D.O. No. 2470/JS(WD) 2002 dated 22.5.2002 of Secretary, Women & Child Development Department, Govt. of India, an Empowered Committee is re-constituted for considering applicants / projects of NGOs and other eligible institutions under NORAD and STEP schemes.

1.	Secretary, Govt. of Haryana, Women & Child Development Department.	Chairperson
2.	Managing Director, Haryana Women Development Corporation	Convener
3.	Director, Women & Child Development Department, Haryana.	Member
4.	Director, Industrial Training, Haryana.	Member
5.	Secretary, Haryana State Social Welfare Advisory Board.	Member
6.	Sr. Accounts Officer / Accounts Officer (WCD).	Member
7.	Representative of concerned departments (as per need / project proposal).	Member

1. The Committee shall screen applications received by State Women Development
Corporation.

2. The Committee shall work out an Annual Plan of Action for proper and optimum
utilization of the amount fixed for the State. The Plan of Action shall inter alia work out.

(i)  The liability on account of the (a) second installment of the proposals sanctioned
     during 2001-2002, (b) continuation of computer programmes sanctioned in the
     previous years, (c) cases already sanctioned by Department of Women and Child
     Development, Government of India during the current year and liability for second
     installment thereon, and accordingly determine the number of fresh cases that can
     be recommended for the year 2002-03 within the ceiling fixed for the State.

(ii) Employment potentiality of various traditional and non-traditional trades in different
parts of the State.

(iii) Possibility of opening new areas of training and skill development, specially involving
new technologies, which offer good opportunities for employment.

(v) The extend to which the programme can be implemented in the Swayamsidha
blocks as per the convergence plan and accordingly earmark allocation for the same.

(vi) The extent to which the public sector undertakings or corporations such as State
Electronics Corporations etc. can be involved with the Programme, particularly for
training in new areas like computer training etc.

(Note : It is not necessary that the programme must be implemented through the voluntary organizations, stated may involve its corporations and autonomous bodies for the implementation of the programme).

3. The Committee shall get the proposals pre-appraised throu7gh the Haryana Women
     Development Corporation. The pre-appraisal shall include the background and credibility
     of the organization, its experience in imparting the training programme, and the veracity
     of the facts and statements submitted by the implementing organisation in support of the
     proposal.

4.  The committee shall recommend the cases of only those Non-Governmental organizations
      which have good reputation and proven track record of integrity, expertise and efficiency
      and are capable of delivering the programme.

5. The Committee shall ensure that necessary documentation of the project proposal is
completed in every respect as per the check list prepared by Govt. of India.

6. The Committee shall give its specific recommendations and forward only those proposals,
      which it recommends for sanctions. The minutes of the Committee’s proceedings along
      with the recommended cases in original shall be forwarded in a bunch to the department
      of Women and Child Development, Govt. of India for consideration of the project
      sanctioning committee. Individual and isolated cases shall never be recommended.

7.  The committee may recommend twice the number of cases as can be sanctioned within
      the financial ceiling fixed for the State so as to provide a cushion for possible rejections of
      the proposals by the project sanctioning committee and also to enable diversion of find
      from the States which would not be able to utilize the allocated amount.

8. The Committee shall meet at least once during a month and try to complete its
deliberations by the end of September.

9. The cases recommended should be as per the approved financial norms of various
       traditional and non-traditional trades for training as fixed by Govt. of India. In case the
       committee decides to recommend a trade for which no norm has been fixed, the
       committee shall suggest such a norm and shall also prescribe a syllabus, time frame and
       trainers qualifications for consideration of Govt. of India.

For application forms and more details, information can be obtained from Programme Officers (ICDS) at the district level and Child Development Project Officers at the Block level and District Managers, Haryana Women Development Corporation. The NGOs can submit their applications to these officers who send their project proposals to Haryana Women Development Corporation after inspection and proper scrutiny.

For more details visit website www.wcd.nic.in of Women & Child Development Department, Government of India.