8 MAY2023INFOCUSINFOCUSUnion Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was part of a panel discussion on `Empowering Women as Entrepreneurs and Leaders' in the US, capital, Washington DC. The panel was joined by David Malpass, President of World Bank Group, and David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs.The Indian finance minister on a week-long visit to the U.S. While speaking at the panel, she outlined initiatives to bolster the economic status of women during the IMF/World Bank Spring meetings. She also highlighted how the current Indian government has been promoting the idea of women-led development and not just women-centric development."Since 2014, PM Modi has emphasized that we need to have `women-led' development for India instead of just having `women-centric' development. He ensured that zero-balance accounts (Jan-Dhan accounts) were opened for every Indian", Sitaraman informed an audience of hundreds. Nirmala also highlighted the various initiatives undertaken by the Govt. of India for women's empowerment, enhancing their economic independence and their outcomes. According to the National Sample Survey Office's (NSSO) recent data, the majority of females in Odisha does not work or complete their educational qualifications. The report of NSSO is the 78th 'Multiple Indicator Survey in India' which mentions that 57.4 percent of the state's female population between the ages 15 to 29 is not into education, employment, or training (NEET).Whereas the NEET population of men is only 20.5 percent. There is a significant gender gap between both males and females in Odisha. The NEET population of the urban and rural parts of the state doesn't very much. The women of the urban region are majorly not into education employment, or training which stands for 60 per cent in comparison to the women of rural parts which is 57 percent.The top five states which fall under the NEET population of women in this age group are, Punjab at 59.6 percent, Uttar Pradesh at 59.5 percent, Assam at 59.2 percent, West Bengal at 58.6 percent, and Odhisa at 57.4 percent. The lowest such population is seen in the northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram with only seven percentThe survey was supposed to be taken originally from January to December 2020 but it was extended until August 15, 2021, due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The main aim of this survey was to gather information for the creation of National Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators.While conducting the survey, NSSO listed down the number of females who are pursuing their higher education and training. They discovered that only 24.9 percent of women in Odhisa aged 15 to 29 are enrolled in both formal and non-formal educational institutions.The percentage of NEET men in India who actively seek employment is just 65.3 percent whereas just 5.9 percent of NEET women indicate a lower inclination of women toward the workforce.The NSSO report surprised the Academician and State Higher Education Council Chairman, Ashok Das. He said that one needs to examine a number of different reports including the Ministry of Education's enrollment surveys as the participation of girls in higher education is around 55 to 65 percent.NSSO Data on Female (15 to the 29-year group)· Not in Education or Work: 57.4 percent· In Formal and Non Formal Education: 24.9 percent· Migration for Education: 1.3 percent· Migration for Employment: 0.2 percent. UNION MINISTER NIRMALA SITHARAMAN & WORLD BANK CHIEF DISCUSS EMPOWERING WOMEN LEADERSNSSO REPORTS HALF OF ODISHA'S WOMEN ARE NOT IN THE WORKFORCEINDIAN FINANCE MINISTER OUTLINED INITIATIVES TO BOLSTER THE ECONOMIC STATUS OF WOMEN DURING THE IMF/WORLD BANK SPRING MEETINGS
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