Lifting up India’s women

For too long, women had been ignored and forgotten, with government schemes bypassing their inclusion and benefit. Women in rural areas – already historically disadvantaged – had been further pushed back into invisibility. Prime Minister Narendra Modi not only introduced social welfare schemes and policies that put women at the helm, he went a step further to ensure women could independently access opportunities, without depending on their husbands, fathers, or brothers. Since 2014, programmes and schemes that have been introduced have been well planned, providing scope for women to benefit as equal and independent partners in India’s progress.

Women accounted for almost half the total number (49.6 per cent) of enrollments between 2019 and 2021 under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana — the largest health assurance scheme of its kind in the world that targets 50 crore Indians. The health benefits package of this scheme has 141 procedures for women, including 136 packages under obstetrics and gynaecology – the second-most utilised service after general medicine across 15 states. So far women have accounted for 42 per cent of the total number of beneficiaries who have availed treatment. This includes nearly three crore screenings for breast cancer and over two crore screenings for cervical cancer till June 2021. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao programme is today playing an important role in ensuring the survival, protection, and education of the girl child.

Keeping the focus on women’s health and empowering them to make decisions that affect their lives, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana which was launched within two years of the BJP government assuming office was designed specifically for the adult women population in rural and backward settings who were still using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, cow-dung cakes, and coal — one of the main causes of indoor pollution that disproportionately affects women. Under the scheme, nine crore LPG connections have been released (till January 31, 2022), surpassing the initial target of eight crore connections by 2020, which was met in 2019. An independent study by the World Resources Institute India found that, as a result of greater uptake of LPG cylinders in India, 1.5 lakh pollution-related deaths were prevented, and indoor pollution deaths were reduced by 13 per cent in 2019.

In 21st century India, women must be financially empowered and have equal access and opportunities. Anything less would be unacceptable. Policies and programmes have been tailored to encourage women to participate in schemes and join the workforce. Out of the 2.5 crore houses that have been built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the flagship affordable, housing initiative, women will have co-ownership rights to two crore of those houses. Similarly, to encourage entrepreneurship in India, the government also launched the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA scheme in 2015 which provided loans up to Rs 10 lakh to small enterprises. Sixty-eight per cent beneficiaries of the 32 crore loans that were given are women. Similarly, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has been a priority programme for this government to ensure financial literacy and universal access to banking services, ensuring at least one bank account per family along with providing opportunities to avail credit, insurance, and pension schemes. As of March 2022, 45 crore Jan Dhan accounts have been opened of which more than half (56 per cent) or 25 crore belong to women.

Over the past eight years, much has been achieved in India to put women on an equal socio-economic footing, and our dedication and endeavour to make policies and programmes centred around women will continue.

In January 2014, even before he became the Prime Minister, Modi spoke of women as nation-builders. His commitment to that statement has remained steadfast and strong. Prime Minister Modi recognises that for India to flourish, women must scale new summits and be equal partners in driving progress. For this, our government’s programmes and policies will continue to create an environment where women can access equal opportunities that are rightfully theirs.

This column first appeared in the print edition on April 7, 2022 under the title ‘With equality as its credo’. The writer is the Minister of Women and Child Development, Government of India