In his video message at the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment, PM Modi said that when women prosper, the world prospers.
A paradigm shift of women-led development and inclusion seems to have taken place over the last decade under the Narendra Modi government which, apart from legislative tools, has ensured that targeted welfare schemes for women reach saturation point.
Prime Minister Modi’s arrival on the national scene in 2014 was heralded with his iconic pro-women message, “Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao”. This was quickly followed up by the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan—Swachhta for female toilets and Jal Jeevan for household tap water that provides ease of living to women and gives them a sense of self-confidence with self-esteem. The Ujjwala scheme for subsidised LPG cylinder, saving over 9 crore women from the misery of a smoky kitchen, was another big hit.
Under the PM Awas Yojana, more than 2.16 crore houses have been constructed out of the 2.85 crore sanctioned houses, with 69% of the ownership being held either solely or jointly by women. Apart from launching these schemes, it was the transparent manner in which beneficiaries got their entitlement—without paying bribes—that impressed many.
As highlighted by PM Modi himself at the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment, financial empowerment of women under his government has been the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, where 70% of loans have been sanctioned to women. Similarly, under Stand Up India, 80% of the beneficiaries are women, who are taking bank loans for greenfield projects. Similarly, many of the success stories in the cooperative movement in India are women-driven.
In his video message at the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment, he said that when women prosper, the world prospers. Their economic empowerment drives development, and their access to education drives global progress. Their leadership promotes inclusivity, and their voices inspire positive change.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH LEGISLATION
The Modi government’s legislative initiatives to promote women-led development have worked to strengthen women’s agency and socio-economic capacities.
The Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023 passed by both Houses of Parliament promises to ensure that women occupy at least 33% of the seats in state legislative Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. “Typically, achieving a critical mass of 30% representation by women in Parliament is known to yield positive outcomes for women’s empowerment”, Susan Ferguson, UN Women’s India Country Representative, said hailing the women quota bill.
The government has also taken decisive action to implement adequate social security benefits for women workers. The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2017 is a landmark measure that has increased the maximum period of paid maternity leaves to 26 weeks from the existing period of 12 weeks.
In addition, the recently implemented Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 envisages employment of women in all establishments covering all types of works. Women are now entitled to work at night, subject to their consent, with provisions of safety, holidays, working hours or any other condition as prescribed by appropriate government. It promotes gender equality in a big way.
Even the abolition of Tripal Talaq by the Modi government has been hailed as a bold step to improve the lot of Muslim women.
AGRICULTURE
Women-led development has also been the focus in the farm sector where the Modi government may double the income support for women farmers. A provision for Rs 12,000 crore would be needed to meet the additional financial burden. At present, farmers get Rs 6,000 per year under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi and the government may announce an enhanced yearly payout of Rs 12,000 in case of women farmers.
Schemes like PM-KISAN and Kisan Credit Card have injected financial support directly into the hands of farmers, fostering agricultural growth and economic stability, according to Dr K.C. Ravi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Syngenta India.
Additionally, initiatives like Mudra Yojana have empowered rural women by providing them with the means to start and expand their own businesses. “These concerted efforts reflect PM Modi’s commitment to holistic rural development, where women are not only active participants in agriculture but also contributors to the broader economic landscape,” Dr Ravi said.
Ajai Rana, Chairman, Federation of Seed Industry of India, credits the rural livelihood programme Aajeevika Mission of the government for empowering women in agriculture and rural sectors.
Under the mission, millions of women are enrolled under self-help groups (SHGs) and are scripting new stories of transformation and prosperity. The Ujjwala scheme and financial inclusion are other initiatives that give us much hope, said Rana, adding that the seed industry remains committed to furthering the government’s goals.
“Seed production, being a labour-intensive industry, is highly specialised, with women playing a crucial role in its operations,” he said.
Recognising the pivotal role of women in nation-building, Rana said the Drone Didi Scheme which provides agricultural drones to women SHGs is contributing to the ongoing agricultural revolution and enhancing productivity, he said.
The government’s Lakhpati Didi scheme has seen 83 lakh SHGs with nine crore women transforming rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance and help 2 crore women earn a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh per year per household.
AVIATION AND MILITARY
As a policy to increase women pilot’s participation in the aviation industry, the government has been promoting opportunities in flying schools and the Air Force. PM Modi has highlighted that 15% of pilots in the country are women, the best global average of women pilots, including both civil and defence aviation sectors.
For the first time, combat roles were introduced for three women fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. An all-women SWAT team is set up for anti-terror operations. Moreover, rifle women have been deployed along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on national security duty.
India’s first female locomotive pilot, Surekha Yadav, was also hailed by the Prime Minister. She is also the first female loco-pilot to drive the Vande Bharat train.
JAN DHAN YOJANA
According to an official website, the government also introduced the world’s largest financial inclusion programme—the PM Jan Dhan Yojana—in which over 55% of accounts are held by women. The programme provided Rs 500 per month to over 20 crore women account holders from April-June 2020.
The Deendayal Antodaya Yojana provides support to diversify livelihoods and improve incomes for rural poor women through self-help groups. So far, over eight crore women have been mobilised into 75 lakh SHGs.
Under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, with a minimum deposit of Rs 250, citizens can open an account in the name of a girl child till she turns 10. Around 2.9 crore accounts were opened and Rs 1.3 lakh crore was deposited.
While addressing a congregation of scheme beneficiaries, the majority of whom comprised women, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Dr Jitendra Singh recently said, “There has been a paradigm shift in Public Service Delivery and the implementation of government schemes in the last 10 years. Be it DBT, or provision of basic facilities like electricity, water, toilets to poor people, all these have brought a revolution at the grassroots level.”
Dr Singh said that Prime Minister Modi has put Nari Shakti at the forefront of India’s development journey. “Mission Shakti comprises two sub-schemes ‘Sambal’ and ‘Samarthya’ for the safety, security and empowerment of women. The impact of this approach has been evident in the outcomes, such as an improved sex ratio at birth which is now for the first time 1,020 women per 1,000 men, a rise in institutional deliveries, declining infant mortality, and a lower maternal mortality rate,” he said.
INCLUSION OF THE SPECIALLY-ABLED
Arman Ali, Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) said the Modi government, recognizing the significance of inclusivity, has demonstrated its commitment through flagship programs such as the Accessible India Campaign and innovative infrastructure projects. “The PM’s focus on inclusive education is evident in the nationwide inclusion of Indian Sign Language as a subject, aligning with the National Education Policy. Initiatives like the issuance of unique identity cards (UDID) and the RPwD Act, 2016, establish accessibility standards and promote awareness,” said Ali.
“However, despite the Central government’s commendable policies and schemes, challenges persist in the implementation by state governments due to a lack of monitoring. It is crucial to integrate disability issues into the development agenda and view them as integral components of welfare schemes,” said Ali.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Approximately 43% of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates in India are women, while around a quarter of space scientists in the country are female, said science and technology minister Singh.
ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 mission had a female Deputy Project Director, Kalpana K. Now, there are more female scientists and engineers in ISRO than ever before.