• The Government has set up a dedicated fund Nirbhaya Fund, which can be utilized for projects specifically designed to improve the safety and security of women.

    • It is a non-lapsable corpus fund, being administered by Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance.

    • As per the guidelines, the responsibility of Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) includes 

        ◦ nodal Ministry to appraise/ recommend proposals and schemes to be funded under Nirbhaya Fund and

        ◦ to review and monitor the progress of sanctioned schemes/ projects in conjunction with the line Ministries/Departments.

    • Under Nirbhaya Fund, schemes/ projects worth Rs. 9288.45 Cr. have been appraised till date.

    • An amount of Rs.5712.85 crore has been allocated and an amount of Rs.3544.06 crore has been disbursed/ released by the concerned Ministries/ Departments.

    • Budget allocations against approved projects are made in the budget of the respective Ministries/ Departments through Demands or Supplementary Demands for Grants.

    • The salient features of Nirbhaya Fund like project contours, procedure for submitting proposals, procedure for processing proposals, funding pattern etc. is indicated in the aforesaid framework.

    • Funding to Non-Governmental Organisations is not envisaged under the framework.

    • An Empowered Committee (EC) of Officers constituted under Nirbhaya Fund appraises and recommends the proposals for funding under Nirbhaya Fund and also reviews the status of implementation from time to time in conjunction with the concerned Ministries/ Departments/ Implementing Agencies.

The proposed projects under the Nirbhaya Fund should have the following features:

    • Direct impact on safety and security concerns of women

    • Optimum use of existing infrastructure

    • Innovative use of technology

    • No duplication of existing government schemes/programmes

    • Provision for real time intervention as far as possible. 

E.g. in case of CCTVs for women’s safety, there should be real-time monitoring of footage and quick response, rather than just a recording of events for evidence after the incident has occurred

    • Strict privacy and confidentiality of women’s identity and information. E.g. placement of CCTVs so as to not compromise women’s privacy, protection of video data collected etc.

    • Defined role of all stakeholders

    • Clear definition of project:

    • Inputs – required manpower, physical assets, financial resources etc. 

    • Activities – to be undertaken during the project cycle. 

E.g. trainings, building infrastructure etc.

    • Outputs – product of the project. 

E.g. number of people reached, area covered etc.

    • Measurable outcomes – expected achievement of the project. 

E.g. increase in prosecutions of crime against women, reduction in crime rate etc. 

E.g. installation of 500 CCTVs at crime prone areas and public places is a project output. However, this offers no indication of whether the technology is actually used or if it improves police effectiveness. The outcome of such a project could be a reduction in incidents of crime, increasing use of CCTV footage as evidence in court, more prosecutions for crime against women etc.

    • No. of beneficiaries to be reached – absolute or estimated

    • Defined monitoring mechanism – from lowest level up to MWCD

    • Support of State WCD/Social Welfare Department, State Home Department and concerned central Ministry/Department (in case of proposals from States).

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)