National Commission for Women

Why is in news? NCW & EDII to organize 100 Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes for potential women entrepreneurs Across India

• The National Commission for Women (NCW) in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) announced the launch of 100 Entrepreneurship Awareness Programmes (EAPs) for potential women entrepreneurs across the country at Vikram University in Ujjain.
• The first EAP out of the 100 to be organized across the country, was launched at Madhya Pradesh.
• The aim of the one-day EAP is to orient participating women to the benefits of adopting entrepreneurship as a career, learn the finer skills and overcome social, economic, and familial barriers to becoming entrepreneurs.
• The EAPs are aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills among women so that they could gain knowledge, skills and motivation to build their own businesses.

National Commission for Women:

• The National Commission for Women was set up as statutory body in January 1992 under the National Commission for Women Act, 1990 to review the Constitutional and legal safeguards for women; recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate redressal of grievances and advise the Government on all policy matters affecting women.
• The Commission shall consist of :-
• A Chairperson, nominated by the Central Government.
• Five Members with expertise in law and issues related to women, nominated by the Central Government.
• At least one Member each shall be from amongst persons belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively
• Member Secretary must be a central gazetted officer having management and sociological expertise and nominated by the Central Government.
• The National Commission for Women submits all its reports to the Central Government, which is laid before the Parliament during sessions.
• During the investigation of any matter before it, National Commission for Women has all the powers of a civil court.

Functions:

• Inquiry, Investigation and Examination of matters related to safeguards of women
• Recommendation: to the Union as well State regarding improving the conditions of the women.
• Review different laws related to women and suggest amendments to them.
• Takes up violation cases pertaining to the provisions of the Constitution and other laws related to women.
• Suo-Moto Notice on matters pertaining to deprivation of women’s rights, non-implementation of laws, non-compliance policy decisions related to women etc.
• Undertake promotional and educational research to find ways to represent women in all spheres of life and improve their efficiency.
• Participate in the process of planning related to the socio-economic development of women.
• Evaluate the progress related to the development of women in the State and the Union.
• Inspect the jail, remand homes etc., where women are kept as prisoners.

Major limitations:

• The NCW is only recommendatory and has no power to enforce its decisions.
• Commission lacks constitutional status, and thus has no legal powers to summon police officers or witnesses.
• It has no power to take legal actions against the Internal Complaint Committees that prevent grievance redressal of women facing harassment.
• Financial assistance provided to the Commission is very less to cater to its needs.
• It does not have the power to choose its own members. The power selecting members is vested with the Union government leading to political interference at various levels.