More than 18,000 women representing panchayats across 406 districts of 14 states and union territories have been trained under an intensive training programme, an official statement said on Wednesday.
According to the Women and Child Development Ministry, there are more than 14 lakh Elected Women Representatives of Panchayats across the country.
Titled "Capacity Building Programme for Elected Women Representatives of Panchayati Raj", the project is being implemented by National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, an autonomous body under the ministry.
The programme was started off last year in November by Union Woman and Child Minister Maneka Gandhi who said that the initiative was taken as a step to train the EWRs to administer the villages effectively.
"It is regrettable that not many women sarpanches and EWRs come forward to take up their responsibilities and mostly allow their husbands to take the lead. So, they remain 'sarpanchanis' in name only," she had said.
--IANS
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