PERCEPTION OF WOMEN ON UTILISING GOVERNMENT WELFARE SCHEMES IN RURAL AREAS OF MANIPUR

In India, where women make up about half of the population, they are guaranteed equal rights under the constitution and are given priority in national development initiatives. A plethora of schemes and programmes have been announced. The utilisation of various schemes varies based on the perception and access which are determined socio economic factors. Hence, the researcher, after careful deliberation has opted to analyze the welfare programmes pertaining to Government Welfare Schemes particularly in the rural sector. The researcher has taken Imphal West District, where the women population is more in rural areas. And 340 respondents were taken for this study using Multi Stage Random Sampling Method. Descriptive Research Design was used for this study. Interview schedule was developed and used as a tool for data collection. The study shows that as the institutional support to the welfare programmes are not oriented in the proper direction and suffer from bias and prejudices, the programmes so launched do not provide the desired benefit to these people in the State, particularly those residing in the rural area