12-9 crore women workers in the country: govt

There are 12.9 crore women workers as per National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) survey conducted in 2011-12, government today told the Lok Sabha.
"As per the survey results, the number of women workers was 12.9 crore during 2011-12," Minister of State for Labour and Employment Vishnu Deo Sai told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
As per the NSSO survey in 2012, while 23.9 per cent women, who were graduates and above, were working in urban areas, just 2.4 per cent in the same catagory were working in rural areas.
Similarly, 57 per cent non-literate women were working in rural areas as per 2011-12 survey while 27.1 per cent of such women workers were engaged in urban areas. While 21.8 per cent of women who were literate and had studied upto primary level were engaged in rural sector, 19 per cent were engaged in urban sector in the same category.

The NSSO survey of 2011-12 also shows that while 56.1 per cent of women were self-employed, 12.7 per cent were regular wage workers and 31.2 per cent casual labours.
Sai said that to enhance the labour force participation rate among women, his ministry is providing trainign to women through ITIs, National Vocational Training Institutes, Regional Vocational Training Institutes for making them more employable.

"The National Council for Vocation Training has also enhanced the percentage of reservation for women from 25 per cent to 30 per cent. A large number of women are being trained in modular employable skills under skill development initiatives scheme," Sai said.

Giving figures, the minister said the expenditure for Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) for the last three year was Rs 1010.23 crore, Rs 1228.44 crore and Rs 988.36 crore during 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
He said that in addition to the existing ITIs, where women can persue vocational training, there are eleven institutes being run by the central government exclusively for women which are in Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerela, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
It has also been decided to open eight new Regional Vocational Training Institutes for Women in Bihar, Goa, Himanchal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Tripura and Uttarakhand, the minister said.