Despite several efforts, a survey in 2018 ranked India as the most dangerous country for women (BBC,
2018). The Government of India’s (GoI) Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) has
several schemes, policies, and legislations, on women’s safety and empowerment. In 2021, MWCD’s
key umbrella scheme of Mission Shakti was divided into two sub-schemes called Samarthya and
Sambal, focussing on “empowerment” and “safety and security” of women, respectively. Looking at
women’s safety, this note explores the needs and finances for two schemes – One Stop Centre (OSC)
and Shakti Sadan (SS) – subsumed under Mission Shakti, meant for redressal and rescue of women.
There are significant gaps in the number of victims of Gender-based Violence (GBV) receiving
assistance to those who may need it. In the Financial Year (FY) 2021-22, MWCD should have spent
at least ₹374 crore and ₹449 crore, respectively, on OSC and SS. MWCD needs to construct at least
340 and 822 additional OSC and SS facilities, respectively, to aid all estimated victims of GBV. Lastly,
comparing estimated costs for OSC and SS and existing finances, Mission Shakti allocations are only
41 per cent of total costs required for the two sub-schemes.
