In an effort to empower women in rural areas, the Central government has decided to let them carry out a social audit of its flagship welfare schemes. Educated women in rural areas associated with the self-help groups (SHGs) working under the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) will check whether the welfare works are being carried out properly, he added. The social audit started with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), but later the Rural Development Ministry extended it to all of its welfare schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin) and the Pradhan Mantri Sadak Yojana (Rural). The women will be paid for conducting the social audit of the welfare schemes, he added. The ministry has finalised the auditing standards for the social audit with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), he informed.

Source: The Hindu November 13, 2019 10:58 UTC