Goa Cabinet Approves ‘Mahila Digital Sashaktikaran Yojana’ to Advance Sustainable Development Goals

Scheme Overview and Objectives

The state cabinet of Goa has officially approved the ‘Mahila Digital Sashaktikaran Yojana’, an initiative by the IT department. The program is designed to digitally empower women, with a strategic focus on those in rural areas and from economically weaker sections. The government has identified the critical role women play across all societal sectors and underscores the necessity of their empowerment to achieve sustainable development.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The initiative is fundamentally aligned with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The cabinet noted that despite progress, significant barriers persist for women in accessing education and economic opportunities. This program directly addresses these challenges.

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality: The scheme’s primary goal is to empower women, directly tackling gender-based disparities by providing the tools necessary for equal participation in the digital age.
2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: By specifically targeting women in rural and economically disadvantaged communities, the program aims to bridge the digital divide, a critical step in reducing broader societal and economic inequalities.
3. SDG 4: Quality Education: The provision of targeted digital training programs constitutes a significant contribution to lifelong learning opportunities, enhancing skills and knowledge for women outside of formal education systems.
4. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: By enhancing skills, confidence, and access to information, the initiative is poised to improve employment prospects and foster economic opportunities for women, contributing to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
5. SDG 1: No Poverty: Empowering women from economically weaker sections through digital literacy is a direct pathway to improving their socio-economic mobility and breaking cycles of poverty.

Expected Impact and Strategic Rationale

The government’s rationale for the scheme is to use digital inclusion as a powerful enabler for female empowerment. The expected outcomes of the ‘Mahila Digital Sashaktikaran Yojana’ include:

• Enhanced digital skills and literacy among women in Goa.
• Increased confidence and participation in the socio-economic sphere.
• Improved access to education, employment, and economic opportunities.
• A direct contribution to achieving gender equality and reducing inequalities, in line with global SDG commitments.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

The article on the “Mahila Digital Sashaktikaran Yojana” in Goa addresses several interconnected Sustainable Development Goals by focusing on women’s empowerment through digital literacy.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is the primary SDG addressed. The scheme’s explicit aim is to “digitally empower women” and focuses on their empowerment to overcome “significant barriers” and achieve “gender equality.” The article states the scheme’s purpose is to enhance women’s “confidence, and socio-economic mobility.”

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article mentions that the scheme involves “targeted training programmes” designed to enhance women’s “skills.” This directly relates to providing inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities, specifically in the area of digital skills.

• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

  The scheme specifically targets women from “economically weaker sections and rural areas” to bridge the “digital divide.” This is a direct effort to reduce inequalities within and among countries by empowering marginalized groups.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  By enhancing skills and bridging the digital divide, the scheme aims to improve women’s access to “employment, and economic opportunities.” This contributes to promoting sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

Based on the article’s content, the following specific targets can be identified:

1. Target 5.b: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.

   The entire premise of the “Mahila Digital Sashaktikaran Yojana” is to “digitally empower women” by “bridging the digital divide through targeted training programmes.” This aligns perfectly with the goal of using ICT to empower women.

2. Target 4.4: By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.

   The article states the program’s goal is to enhance women’s “skills” to improve their access to “employment, and economic opportunities,” which directly corresponds to this target of increasing the number of adults with relevant technical skills.

3. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.

   The scheme’s focus on women, “particularly those from economically weaker sections and rural areas,” is a clear initiative to promote the social and economic inclusion of a specific demographic that faces significant barriers.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

The article implies several indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

• Indicator for Target 5.b (Implied): Proportion of women with ICT skills.

  Progress can be measured by tracking the number of women who complete the “targeted training programmes.” A key metric would be the increase in the percentage of women, especially in rural Goa, who possess digital skills post-implementation of the scheme.

• Indicator for Target 4.4: Indicator 4.4.1 – Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill.

  The scheme is a “digital” empowerment program. Its success can be directly measured by the proportion of adult women in Goa who acquire ICT skills as a result of the training. This is a direct reflection of Indicator 4.4.1.

• Indicator for Target 10.2 (Implied): Reduction in the digital divide.

  The article explicitly mentions the goal of “Bridging the digital divide.” Progress can be measured by comparing digital literacy and access rates between women in rural and urban areas, and between women from different economic sections, before and after the program’s implementation.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com