Encouraged by the success of the One Stop Centres (OSC) to support women affected by violence, the government plans to open 300 more OSCs soon, Union Minister for Women & Child Development Smriti Irani said here on Tuesday.She said presently, there are 704 OSCs functioning in the country to help out women hit by violence in private or public spaces, family, community, or at workplaces.So far, in collaboration with Women's Helplines, over 70 lakh women have been helped by the Central and state governments and now 300 more OSCs will be opened, Irani added.She said that under the Nirbhaya Fund, various projects worth Rs 9,000 crore have been implemented between 2014-2021 to ensure the safety and security of women, with women's health and empowerment becoming an integral part of the government's programmes and policies.The Minister was speaking at the Zonal Conference of States and Stakeholders from Western Region in Mumbai, on a variety of issues with participation from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu.Other speakers included Union Minister of State Dr. Mahendra Munjpara, Maharashtra Minister for Women & Child Development Yashomati Thakur, top officials like Indevar Pandey, I.A. Kundan and others on three women-centric topics - Mission Poshan 2.0, Mission Shakti, and Mission Vatsalya.
In this context, Irani said that a whopping Rs 171,000 crore has been allocated for women related programmes which is a 14 per cent increase.Observing how at the fiscal year-end, states would approach the Centre with problems on implementing the schemes, so as per Prime Minister Narendra Modi's guidance and the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Centre now proactively reaches out to the states and all stakeholders via the Zonal Conferences, she added.Highlighting her ministry's work, she said over 1.1 million toilets have been built for women under the Swachch Bharat Mission, and separate girls' toilets constructed in over 400,000 government schools in one year to arrest the high 23 per cent dropout ratio of girl students.According to the Minister, under Ayushman Bharat, 45 crore women have taken advantage of healthcare schemes and proved skeptics wrong, over 7 crore women have screened themselves or undergoing treatment for breast cancer or cervical cancer or other women-related issues beating social taboos.Munjpara said that 'Saksham Aanganwadi' and Poshan 2.0 are part of the Mission Shakti and Mission Vatsalya, which are pillars for strengthening women and child development works, and now 12.56 lakh 'pucca' Aanganwadi Kendras are functioning with proper toilets, drinking water and other basic amenities, and more Aanganwadis shall be equipped soon with such standard facilities.