Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985)
"The Constitution of India not only provides for equal rights and privileges for women and men but also for making special provision for women. A series, of social legislations have been enacted from time to time for raising the status of women in the country. The Five Year Plans have consistently placed special emphasis on providing minimum health facilities integrated with family welfare and nutrition for women and children, acceleration of women's education, their increase in the labour force and welfare services for women in need. Various welfare and development schemes have been introduced to improve the living conditions of women and to increase their access to and control over material and social resources. Special steps have been taken to remove legal, social and other constraints to enable them to make use of the rights and new opportunities becoming available for them…Various studies show that women are becoming increasingly conscious of their rights and capabilities. However, the demographic features of female population like excessive mortality in female children resulting in persistent decline in sex ratio, low rate of literacy, and low economic status stress the need for greater attention to the economic emancipation of women. The low status of women in large segments of Indian society cannot be raised without opening up of opportunities of independent employment and income for them. But the process of change to raise the status of women under various spheres of socio-economic activities would require sustained effort over a period of time..." (Chapter 27: Women and Development)
Seventh Five Year Plan (1985-1989)
"A number of social enactments have been put on the statute books for removing various constraints which hindered their progress. In-spite of these measures, women have lagged behind men in different spheres, especially in education. The female literacy rate has consistently been lower in rural as well as urban sectors. In rural areas, where 77 per cent of the female population lives, women's literacy rate is only 17.96 per cent. The urban literacy rate for females is 47.82 per cent. The literacy rate for females varies from 65.73 per cent in Kerala to only 11.42 per cent in Rajasthan. There are many reasons for this, generally of sociological nature.
The health problem of women in society at large is another crucial area not given the required attention. Due to the predominantly patriarchal order, women are confined within an oppressive environment. Differences are frequently noted between health and nutritional status of men and women. Nutritional surveys have indicated high rates of inadequacies among females compared to males. Female infants and children are subject to neglect in respect of nutrition and health care. Statistics from primary health centres show that adult women do not generally take treatment from them. Maternal mortality continues to be very high. A number of studies have indicated that a large number of children suffer from malnutrition, to which the mother's poor health contributes to a great extent. Anaemia among rural women is estimated to be as high as 60—80 per cent, leading to low birth weight among babies.
According to the 1981 Census, only 14 per cent of the total female population in the country falls in the category of "workers". The unpaid economic activities of women and their contribution through work in the domestic sectors remain unreported in the census. An ILO study has estimated that the value of unpaid household work constitutes 25-39 per cent of the total gross national product in developing countries..." (Volume II, Chapter 14: Socio-economic Programmes for Women)
Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997)
"Human resource development plays a critical role in the socio-economic development of a country. It is an investment towards improving the quality of human life. Although development brings economic gains to society in general, specific measures become necessary to ensure that they reach the disadvantaged and the weaker sections of the population such as women, children, the disabled, the elderly, and the destitute. The welfare and development of these weaker sections of the society largely depend upon suitable policy directions executed through appropriate programmes and strategies.
The need to bring women into the mainstream of development has been a national concern since Independence. Article 15 of the Constitution prohibits any discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc. Article 15(3), however, clarifies that this provision will not prevent the State from making any special provisions for women and children.
In the earlier phase of Indian planning, women's development concerns had a low profile. There were, however, some significant beginnings. A major initiative was the establishment of the Central Social Welfare Board in 1953 to promote and assist voluntary organisations in the field of women welfare, child welfare and welfare of the handicapped. Under the community development programme, Mahila Mandals were promoted and supported since the Second Plan. Some legislative measures were also undertaken to protect the interests of women as, for instance, the Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act, 1956, the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 and the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961. The Third and the Fourth Plans accorded a high priority to education of women. Measures to improve maternal and child health services, supplementary feeding for children and nursing and expectant mothers were introduced. The Fifth Plan supported economic development, employment and training for women as the principal focus for their socio-economic development. The main approach in these Plans was generally to view women as the beneficiaries of social services rather than as contributors to development..." (Volume II, Chapter 15: Social Welfare)
Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002)
"Women and children, who represent more than two third (67.7 per cent) of the country's total population, constitute the most important target groups in the context of the present day developmental planning. Therefore, their concerns are placed on the priority list of the country's developmental agenda. Needless to say, they have the strength and support of the Constitution.
Women, as a separate target group, account for 407.8 million (including girl children) as per the 1991 census and constitute 48.1 per cent of the country's total population. Depending upon the developmental needs of the individual age groups, the entire female population has been categorised into five distinct sub-groups, viz. i) girl children in the age-group 0-14 years, who account for 153.85 million (37.8%) and deserve special attention because of the gender bias and discrimination they suffer from at such a tender age; ii) adolescent girls in the age group 15-18 years, who account for 38.70 million (9.5%) and are very sensitive from the view point of planning because of the preparatory stage for their future productive and reproductive roles in the family and society; iii) women in the reproductive age group of 15-44 years, numbering 183.67 million (45.1%) who need special care and attention because of their reproductive needs; iv) women in the economically active age group of 15-59 years, who account for 226.04 million (55.5%) and have different demands like those of education/training, employment, income generation and participation in the developmental process, decision making etc; and v) the elderly women in the age group 60+, numbering 27.17 million (6.7%) who have limited needs mainly relating to health, emotional and financial support..." (Volume II, Chapter 3.8: Empowerment of Women and Development of Children)
Tenth Five Year Plan (2002-2007)
"In particular, the intra-household disadvantages faced by women and children need to be recognised and redressed. It is proposed that during the Tenth Plan, the following measures be taken: National Plan of Action to operationalize the Women’s Empowerment Policy; National Policy and Charter for Children; National Commission for Children to ensure protection of their rights; National Nutrition Mission; Pilot project for providing food-grains to under-nourished pregnant and lactating mothers and to adolescent girls…In pursuance of the avowed objective of empowering the women as agents of socio-economic change, the National Policy on Empowerment of Women was adopted in April, 2001. On this basis, the National Plan of Action, is being implemented which includes the following strategies, (a) create an enabling environment for women to exercise their rights both within and outside their homes; (b) to reserve one-third of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies (c) to adopt a special strategy for the Women Component Plan to ensure that at least 30% of funds and benefits flow to women from all development sectors (d) to organize women into self-help groups as a mark of the beginning of empowering them (e) to accord high priority and ensure easy access to maternal and child health services (f) to initiate steps for eliminating gender bias in all educational programmes; and to institute plans for free education of girls upto college levels including professional levels (g) to equip women with necessary skills in modern upcoming trades which would make them economically independent and self-reliant (h) to increase women’s access to credit through setting up of Development Bank for women entrepreneurs in the small and tiny sectors..." (Volume II: Sectoral Policies and Programmes)
