---
title: "Mission Shakti: India's Women Empowerment Scheme"
description: "Mission Shakti is India's 2021 umbrella scheme for women's safety and empowerment via its Sambal and Samarthya sub-schemes—key for UPSC GS1 and GS2 prep."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/mission-shakti"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Mission Shakti is an Indian government umbrella scheme launched in 2021 to advance women's safety, security, and empowerment through two sub-schemes, Sambal and Samarthya.
- What are the two sub-schemes under Mission Shakti?
- How is Mission Shakti different from the 2019 anti-satellite test of the same name?
- What is the funding pattern of Mission Shakti?
- How does Mission Shakti relate to the Nirbhaya Fund?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Mission Shakti is an Indian government umbrella scheme launched in 2021 to advance women's safety, security, and empowerment through two sub-schemes, Sambal and Samarthya.

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## Positions at a glance

### Supporters

Procedurally, Mission Shakti is organised into two distinct sub-schemes that divide the policy field. The first, Sambal, addresses the safety and security of women and comprises components including One Stop Centres (OSCs), the Women Helpline (number 181) integrated with the Emergency Response Support System (112), Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, and a new component on Nari Adalats—women's collectives at the gram panchayat level for alternative dispute resolution and grievance redressal. The second sub-scheme, Samarthya, addresses empowerment and includes the erstwhile Ujjawala (anti-trafficking and rehabilitation), Swadhar Greh (renamed under the Shakti Sadan hostel scheme), the National Creche Scheme (reframed as Palna), the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (maternity benefit), and a component for economic empowerment of women.

### Opponents

Edge cases and controversies surrounding the programme centre on implementation gaps, underutilisation of allocated funds in certain years, and uneven coverage of One Stop Centres in rural and remote districts. Parliamentary standing committee reports and Comptroller and Auditor General observations have flagged shortfalls in OSC staffing, delays in fund disbursal to states, and inconsistencies in helpline integration. Critics have noted that branding and rationalisation, while improving coordination, risk diluting the distinct mandates of merged components such as anti-trafficking rehabilitation. The Nari Adalat component, piloted in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir, remains experimental and raises questions about the legal standing of community-based redressal bodies operating outside formal courts.

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Example

In 2022, India's Ministry of Women and Child Development notified the restructured Mission Shakti guidelines, consolidating One Stop Centres, the 181 Women Helpline, and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao under its Sambal sub-scheme.

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