SRINAGAR, APRIL 05: A total of 22 empowerment hubs for women are functional across Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh under the Government of India’s Mission Shakti scheme, official data from the Ministry of Women and Child Development shows.
According to the data, Jammu & Kashmir currently has one State Hub for Empowerment of Women (SHEW) and 20 District Hubs for Empowerment of Women (DHEW), while Ladakh has one SHEW and two DHEWs operational across its districts.
As per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer, the ministry confirmed that all existing SHEWs and DHEWs across the country are required to have two gender specialists each as per Mission Shakti guidelines.
Regarding funding, Jammu & Kashmir received Rs 7.25 crore in 2023–24 and Rs 3.17 crore in 2024–25, amounting to a total of Rs 10.42 crore over the past two years. Ladakh received Rs 45.75 lakh each in 2022–23 and 2023–24, and Rs 59.25 lakh in 2024–25, bringing its total allocation to Rs 1.50 crore over three years.
Mission Shakti is a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at strengthening institutional mechanisms for women’s safety, support, and empowerment at the district and state levels,
Meanwhile, total of 4,435 children in conflict with law (CCL) in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have received non-institutional care support under the Government of India’s Mission Vatsalya scheme over the last five years, according to official data. An official said that the Mission Vatsalya scheme—implemented through the State and UT governments—aims to deliver services for children in need of care and protection as well as children in conflict with law. The services include institutional and non-institutional care, such as sponsorship, foster care, adoption, and aftercare, he said.
According to data, J&K accounted for 7,901 children receiving support between 2019 and 2024, of whom a significant number are understood to be children in conflict with law. The yearly breakdown for J&K is 521 in 2019–20, 979 in 2020–21, 979 in 2021–22, 1,398 in 2022–23 and 4,024 in 2023–24. Ladakh, which became a separate Union Territory in October 2019, reported no children supported under the scheme in the first three years. The figures rose to 29 in 2022–23 and 411 in 2023–24, totalling 440 children over the five-year period. The government cited the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 as the principal legislation guiding the care and rehabilitation of children in conflict with law. (KNO)