Swadhar

Swawlamban ( NORAD) Scheme is being implemented by the Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India with partial assistance from Norway since 1982. Its basic objective is to provide training and skill to women to facilitate them obtain employment or self-employment on a sustained basis. The target group under the scheme are the poor and needy women, women from weaker sections of the society, such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, etc. Financial assistance is provided to undertake training programmes for women in both traditional as well as non-traditional trades.

In Haryana State Women Development Corporation (WDC) is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme mostly through the voluntary organizations of the State. At the district level Programme Officers (ICDS) and at the block level Child Development Project Officers are Nodal Officers. Financial assistance is provided to Women Development Corporations/Public Sector Corporations/autonomous bodies and registered voluntary organizations.

With a view to having enhanced involvement of the States in the implementation of the programme, Empowered Committee has been set up in the State to scrutinize the project proposals at the State level as per guidelines of Govt. of India. The State Empowered Committee considers the project proposals and submits these to GOI, along with its recommendations, for consideration. The Haryana Government has constituted the Empowered Committee vide notification No. 2221-SW(3) 2002 dated 4-06-2002 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 applications / 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 consult Website www.wcd.nic.in of Women & Child Development Department, Government of India.