New Delhi, Apr 11 : The Economic Affairs Cabinet Committee today approved the continuation and expansion of the Mahila Samakhya Programme in the 11th Five year Plan with an outlay of Rs 2.1 billion with the assistance of Department for International Development (DIFD) of United Kingdom.

The total DFID commitment is for an amount of 35 million pound sterling and will be disbursed from 2007-08 to 2013-14 with 5 million pound sterling per year.

The programme would continue in nine States and expand its outreach during the 11th Plan period to additional States and 58-60 additional districts.

A substantive expansion of the scheme to cover additional States/districts with educationally backward blocks would yield positive results, both for women's empowerment and girl's education.

Mahila Samakhya is an ongoing programme for women's education and empowerment that was initiated in 1989 to translate the goals of the National Policy on Education into a concrete programme for the education and empowerment of women in rural areas, particularly those from socially and economically marginalized groups.

ANI