From the Chairperson’s Desk

Central Social Welfare Board is an apex national body founded as an initiative of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru on August 13, 1953.  The Board’s founder Chairperson was Dr. Durgabai Deshmukh, an eminent social worker of great repute.  It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India. 

            The major objectives of the Board are to:

·         Bring a positive transformation in women’s empowerment and economic development by reinforcing the spirit of voluntarism.

·         Recommend gender specific policy initiatives to meet the new challenges for women and children in emerging areas. 

·         Strengthen voluntary organizations and expand coverage of ‘engendered’ schemes in areas where they have not reached.

Over the years the Central Social Welfare Board has been steadily evolving into a steering mechanism for implementing specific schemes for women and children by reinforcing the spirit of voluntarism.  Last year, the Board undertook an exercise of self evaluation and its structure has been reorganized into a Zonal System in order to maximize the efficiency of programme implementation and to increase transparency and accountability of its functioning.  So also, we have set out a new corporate philosophy of the Board reiterating our commitment to a wider coverage through NGOs to reach out to all the uncovered areas of the country so that each scheme can cover the most marginalized women and children. The Board has also made efforts to initiate a process of quality professionalism by setting individual targets/unit targets for all its officers.  Towards this end the Board has adopted a mission statement and core competencies this year.  To translate the vision and

mission of the Board into reality, the Board has linked performance appraisal with core competencies and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound) goals.  We have started a Centralised Management Information System i.e. CMIS and have also introduced a facility of online application by interested non-governmental organizations and Voluntary Organisation in 2008 which is known as e-AWEDAN (electronic –Application for Women Empowerment and Development Action by NGOs).  The Board has a fully updated website i.e. www.cswb.gov.in which can be accessed through internet and all information regarding the Board and its activities, including the recent events, are posted there.

The Board is today running six schemes, namely, Short Stay Homes, Family Counselling Centres, Condensed Courses of Education for Women, Awareness Generation Programme, Working Women’s Hostels, Vocational Training Programme for the benefit of women and two schemes for the benefit of children, especially the girl child, namely the Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for the Children of Working Mothers and Innovative Programme.  We wish to make a clarion call to al the NGOs and voluntary organizations across the country, to come forward and become our partners in the process of making the Board truly gender sensitive, responsive, transparent and accountable institution that will work resolutely and tirelessly for the development and empowerment of women and children especially the protection of the girl child. 

Prema Cariappa

Chairperson

CSWB