 bill no  3  of 2007 the widows' welfare bill, 2007 by shri adhalrao shivaji patil, mp a billto provide for the protection and welfare of widows and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the fifty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:—1  (1) this act may be called the widows' welfare act, 2007(2) it extends to the whole of indiashort title, extent and commencement5(3) it shall come into force at oncedefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(i) 'appropriate government' means in the case of a state government, thegovernment of that state and in all other cases, the central government;(ii) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under the act; and(iii) 'widow' means any woman whose husband has expired after her legal marriage and who has not remarried and has no source of income or livelihood;widows' welfare fund3 (1) the central government  shall set up a fund to be known as the widows'welfare fund5(2) the central government and the state governments shall contribute to the fund in such proportion as may be prescribed(3) the fund shall also consist of contributions made by voluntary organizations and donations or contributions received from other organizations or individuals(4) the fund shall be managed by a board consisting of—10(i) the union minister of social justice and empowerment who shall be its ex-officio chairman;(ii) one representative of the union ministry of finance; (iii) one representative of every state government;15(iv) one representative of the voluntary organizations working in the field of widows' welfare; and(v) the secretary of the union ministry of social justice and empowerment, shall be the ex-officio secretary to the board4 (1) the central government shall formulate a scheme for the protection and welfare of widows20(2) the scheme shall provide for—formulation of a scheme for the protection and welfare of widows(i) payment of monthly subsistence allowance to every widow;(ii) free health care facilities to the widows and their dependents;(iii) free educational facilities for the dependent/minor children of widows; (iv) setting up of widows' homes in every district;25(v) insurance facility for widows;(vi) financial assistance for marriage of children of the widows;(vii) loan facilities for self-employment of widows; and (viii) any other matter deemed necessary or expedient by the appropriate government305 (1) the appropriate government shall implement the scheme formulated under section 4 of this actimplementation of widows welfare scheme(2) the expenditure for implementation of the scheme shall be met out of the widows'welfare fund constituted under section 3356 the central government shall make provision for suitable employment to every widow as per her qualifications and experience in services under the central government7 the appropriate government shall maintain a register of widows, in such form and manner, as may be prescribedprovision for suitable employment for widowsmaintenance of a register for wodowspower to make rules8 the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of the act statement of objects and reasonsthe condition of widows in the country is very pathetic there is no scheme for their protection and welfare they are left to fend for themselves and nobody takes care of them they die of hunger and diseasesmajority of the widows do not have any source of income even their children do not take care of themin these circumstances, it is the responsibility of the state to come forward to undertake welfare schemes for widows it is, therefore, proposed in the bill to set up a widows' welfare fund for their protection and welfarethe bill seeks to achieve the above objectivenew delhi;adhalrao shivaji patildecember 8, 2006 financial memorandumclause 3 of the bill provides for setting up of the widows' welfare fund the central government has to contribute to the fund clause 5 provides that the appropriate government shall implement welfare scheme for the widows clause 6 provides that the central government shall make provision for suitable employment for widows the bill, therefore, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of rupees three thousand crore will be involved from the consolidated fund of indiaa non-recurring expenditure of rupees one thousand crore is also likely to be involved memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 8 of the bill empowers the government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of this bill as the rules will relate to matters of detail only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character————abillto provide for the protection and welfare of widows  and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————(shri adhalrao shivaji patil, mp)mgipmrnd—79ls(s-5)—06022007