1. Home
  2. Parliament Q & A
  3. Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana

Question by: Jagdambika Pal

(a) Whether the Government has been able to achieve its objectives laid under the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the number of women benefited under the Pariyojana along with the details and fund allocation thereof;
(c) the steps being taken by the Government to increase the coverage under the scheme;
(d) the steps being taken by the Government to help revive agricultural livelihood options for women under the unlock programme?

Answer by: Minister of Rural Development (Shri Narendra Singh Tomar)

Yes sir. Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP) was announced in the budget of 2010-11 as a sub-scheme of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to meet the specific needs of women farmers and achieve socio-economic empowerment and technical enablement of rural women farmers. A third party evaluation study conducted by Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd in FY2019-20 confirms the achievement of these objectives. The major findings of the study are as follows:-

  1. A higher proportion of households getting any training related to agriculture were engaged in agriculture (57% trained vs. 44% non-trained) in MKSP villages.
  2. Households of trained Mahila Kisans have higher average annual income from agriculture, animal husbandry and Non-Timber Forest Produce.
  3. With respect to diversification of livelihoods, it was found that a higher proportion of Mahila Kisans now engaged in agriculture as well as livestock-based livelihoods and average annual income per household from animal husbandry has also increased.
  4. Mahila Kisans are confident about their knowledge on agriculture, crop management and ability to improve income from agriculture and allied services.
  5. Krishi Sakhis and Pashu Sakhis were reported as most prominent Community Resource Persons members who provided support to women farmers in the intervention villages.
  • Till now 38.05 lakh Mahila Kisans have benefited under MKSP through 85 projects in 24 States and one (1) Union Territory. Deendayal Antodaya Yojana -National rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) is a demand driven programme and MKSP being sub-scheme of DAY-NRLM is also a demand driven programme. Under this, SRLMs submit MKSP proposal which gets approval after due appraisal. As on date, a total budget of Rs. 1290.00 crore has been approved under MKSP out of which Rs.864.95 crore is the central share.
  • The Government has taken actions to increase the net coverage through horizontal and vertical expansion. Under horizontal expansion the facilitation has been done with the SRLMs to submit new MKSP projects. The farm livelihoods interventions of MKSP have been scaled up through activities approved under Annual Action Plans under the DAY-NRLM. Under vertical expansion, the interventions are deepened through organic certification and value chain interventions.
  • DAY-NRLM places emphasis on the mobilization and training of the women SHG members. So, also under MKSP, the women farmers are mobilized and trained in agro ecological, Non Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) and livestock practices. During the lock-down period, the training was affected (where internet was not available) as most of the trainings were through e-platform. After Unlock orders permitted revival of the training, 1.99 lakhs mahila kisan have been mobilized and added into MKSP fold, during current financial year.