(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Digital Technologies for Development

[MAY-2022]

Digital Technologies for Development

Women Empowerment tan be a significant driver of macroeconomic growth and stability in the present and the future. This goal cannot be achieved without the progress of information and communication technologies. Women, who are fundamental participants and critical players in all decision-making processes, have tremendous potential because of this advancement.
To accomplish this, we must include a gender equality viewpoint in all aspects of our work and effectively use digitalisation. Men and women should be given equal opportunity in high-tech education and training. We should collaborate to eliminate
gender barriers in all sectors and promote equal opportunities in ICT-related enterprises, among other things.

Digital Technologies and Women Empowerment

Numerous changes have taken place in the way people communicate, conduct business, and connect because of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Job opportunities in the ICT sector are plentiful, and they include a variety of challenging occupations of various types.
Using ICTs, men and women, minorities, and disabled individuals have received equal work prospects. Digitalisation can advance gender equality and women empowerment by providing women with opportunities to find and share information, access health and educational services, generate income and collaborate with others while also having the ability to have their voices heard.

Educational Empowerment:

Every country is taking advantage of new technologies to assist and increase training for women and girls in education. This includes using computers, the Internet and broadcast media such as radio and television.
Even though there are still many gender inequalities in education due to conventional domestic life, lack of mobility, and socio-cultural ways of thinking that downplay the importance of women’s education, ICTs will be advantageous in promoting women’s
participation around the world.

Health Empowerment:

Women’s health programmes at the global, regional, and national levels stand to benefit significantly from information and communications technologies.
Health promoters in developing nations, such as India, have employed electronic gadgets to broadcast the public’s health-related information on sexual and reproductive rights.
ICTs offer the ability to deliver locally adapted health information to women through community access points.

Political Empowerment:

Worldwide, people are utilising ICTs in novel ways for networking and political activities. Women and their organisations have strategically employed ICTs to advance their rights. Women’s networks are leveraging new technology to amplify marginalised women’s voices.
ICTs encouraged the formation of alternative organisations and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) to address topics that are not effectively addressed by traditional
media. The Internet has elevated women’s perspectives to the forefront of public
discourse, with various venues devoted exclusively to women.
ICTs can assist in strengthening women’s networks for social and political activism, expanding women’s engagement in the political process, assisting women officials in their work, and increasing women’s access to government and its services.

Economic Empowerment:

ICTs contribute to women’s economic empowerment by providing chances for women to own and operate ICT projects. Additionally, digitalisation enables women to work remotely from their homes while caring for their families.
ICTs foster an environment conducive to women participating in activities and initiatives to defend their demands and advance their goals.
ICTs also provide economic opportunities in terms of finance and financial decision-making.
Digital financial services enable financial inclusion by bridging the gender divide in account ownership and increasing formal financial activities in terms of both volume and value of transactions.
Digitisation has the potential to create an enabling environment for women’s financial products and services to be transparent, inexpensive, accessible, and qualified.

Direct Benefits Transfers (DBT)

With the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) programme, the government is reengineering current delivery processes to ensure better and more timely delivery of benefits through ICT.
Benefits are transferred into accurately targeted beneficiaries’ bank and postal accounts, preferably seeded with Aadhaar. The programme also supports in-kind transfers from the government to individual beneficiaries.

DBT Government Schemes

Anganwadi Services - Honorarium to Anganwadi Workers (AWW) and Anganwadi Helper (AWH).
Improved working conditions for Anganwadi workers have been made possible by revised joint guidelines issued by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Rural Development, and the Panchayati Raj for the construction of 4 lakh AWC buildings across the country as part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in collaboration with Anganwadi Services (ICDS Scheme).

Supplementary Nutrition Programme:

The Supplementary Nutrition Programme is being run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to improve women and children’s nutritional status. It is part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, which is meant to help pregnant women, lactating mothers, and out-of-school adolescent girls who are not in school get the food they need (11-14 years).
The Poshan Tracker is a mobile application launched by the Ministry as a critical governance tool. Poshan Tracker’s technology identifies stunting, wasting dynamically, and underweight prevalence among youngsters and tracks nutrition programme delivery down to the last mile.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls (AGs): The fundamental objective of the project is to aid, educate, and empower AGs. Aims of the initiative include the following, among other things.
Students who have dropped out of school are assisted in making a smooth transition back to formal schooling or bridge learning/skill training.
They are informed and directed to existing public services such as primary health
centres and rural hospitals.
Provide opportunities for self-development and empowerment for the AGs.
Increase the nutritional and health status of the participants.
The scheme uses a rapid reporting system (RRS), a role-based management information system (MIS) that records information about the adolescent females who get benefits under the plan.
National Creche Scheme: It is being implemented as a centrally sponsored scheme
through states/UTs by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to provide daycare
facilities to children (between the ages of 6 months and six years) of working mothers.

The scheme is being implemented with the assistance of states/UTs. The scheme provides the following:

Sleeping quarters in day-care centres
For children under the age of three, early stimulation is recommended, whereas pre-school education is recommended for children from three to six years.
Nutrients in addition to the primary food source (to be locally sourced)
Surveillance of growth
Examination of health and immunisation

The Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS):

It is a centrally financed programme that aims to create a protective environment for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and other vulnerable children through collaborations between government and civil society organisations.
As a broad umbrella for child protection, the ICPS brings together numerous existing child protection schemes run by the ministry and incorporates additional actions for protecting children and preventing harm.

Swadhar Greh: Under the scheme, Swadhar Grehs will be established in every district with a capacity of 30 women to meet the primary needs of women in distress who are without any social or economic support, such as housing, food, clothes, medical treatment, and care.

Swadhar Grehs have the following objectives:

To help people rebuild their emotional power, which their experience with unpleasant circumstances has impaired.
To offer them legal assistance and counselling for them to be able to take measures toward reintegrating into their families and communities.
To help women regain their financial and mental stability.
To serve as a support system that is sensitive to and responsive to the needs
of women in distress.
To provide women with the opportunity to begin their lives anew with dignity and conviction.

Ujjawala: The scheme aims to achieve the following objectives

Preventing the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation through social mobilisation and participation of local communities, awareness generation programmes, generating public discourse through workshops/seminars and other similar
events, as well as any other innovative activity.
Rescue of victims and their placement in safe custody by making it easier to locate
and rescue them from the location of their exploitation.
To aid victims with both immediate and long-term rehabilitation services, it is necessary to address their basic needs, including shelter, food, clothing, medical treatment, counselling, legal support and guidance, and vocational training.
Helping victims reintegrate with their families and society.
Victims of cross-border crimes to be reunited with their families.

Leveraging Digitalisation to Achieve Gender Equality:

The government should ensure that new technologies prioritise, safeguard, and promote women’s human rights.Ethical frameworks for AI auditing, monitoring, and governance must prioritise gender equality.

The government must address the gender data gap, bothin number and quality while retaining privacy and data safety as top priorities.
Universities, schools, and other educational institutions must equip women and girls for
the digital revolution.
Those who design, develop, and use AI in decision-making must be educated on
women’s rights-compliant technology.
Women role models and mentors in STEM must be promoted by policymakers who must
address exclusionary policies and terminology.
For women and men to have equal access to well-paying jobs and professions, companies, particularly in the technology sector, must adopt gender mainstreaming policies.
Labour market rules that include paid maternity/parental leave and affordable childcare must be developed.

Conclusion

Women Empowerment can be a significant driver of macroeconomic growth and stability in the present and the future. This goal cannot be achieved without the progress of information and communication technologies. Women, who are fundamental participants and critical players in all decision-making processes, have tremendous potential because of this advancement.
To accomplish this, we must include a gender equality viewpoint in all aspects of our work and effectively use digitalisation. Men and women should be given equal opportunity in high-tech education and training. We should collaborate to eliminate gender barriers in these sectors and promote equal opportunities in ICT-related enterprises, among other things.