NEW DELHI: Eying the women's votes, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a slew of measures to target India’s growing ‘nari shakti’.
From increasing the target of women beneficiaries under its Lakhpati didi scheme to Rs 3 crore from Rs. 2 crores, providing PMJAY insurance coverage to over 11 lakh ASHA workers and 14 lakh Aanganwadi workers and helpers to 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans for women entrepreneurs, the Finance Minister in her interim budget said that the empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in the last 10 years.
Though the focus of the government was on women's empowerment and their economic participation, the Women and Child Development Ministry got just over a 2 per cent increase from last year’s budget. The ministry has been allocated Rs 26,000 crore in 2024-25, an increase of 2.52 per cent from the previous budget.
The Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0 (Umbrella ICDS - Anganwadi Services, Poshan Abhiyan, Scheme for Adolescent Girls) saw the highest allocation of funds at Rs 21,200 crore, followed by the Mission Shakti (Mission for Protection and Empowerment for Women) which has been given Rs 3145.97 crore. The Mission VATSALYA (Child Protection Services and Child Welfare Services) was allocated Rs 1,472 crore.
Emphasising the government’s focus on women's empowerment, the finance minister started by stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “firmly believes, we need to focus on four major castes. They are, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth), and ‘Annadata’(Farmer).
“Their needs, their aspirations, and their welfare are our highest priority. The country progresses when they progress”. She added that all four require and receive government support in their quest to better their lives and their empowerment and well-being will drive the country forward,” she said.
Commending the active participation of Indian women in the workforce and their enrollment in higher education, particularly STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) courses, Sitharaman said that female enrolment in higher education is up by 28% in 10 years, in STEM courses, girls and women make up 43% of enrolment, one of the highest in the world.
“All these steps are reflected in the increasing participation of women in the workforce. Making triple talaq illegal, reservation of 1/3 seats for women in Parliament and state assemblies, over 70 % houses under PM Awas Yojana to women have increased their dignity," she said.
A total of 43 crore loans amounting to Rs 22.5 lakh crore have been granted under the PM Mudra Yojana, she said and mentioned that within the last decade, a remarkable 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been specifically provided to women.
Praising the role of self-help groups, the finance minister announced that there are currently 83 lakh self-help groups (SHGs) consisting of nine crore women. She said they are playing a significant role in improving the socio-economic conditions in rural areas.
These SHGs have empowered and made nearly one crore women financially independent, thus earning them the term "Lakhpati Didi". She said the government encouraged by this success has decided to increase the target for Lakhpati Didi from 2 crore to 3 crore.
The minister also announced the government’s intention to provide free cervical cancer vaccinations for girls aged nine to fourteen. “Our government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for the prevention of cervical cancer," she said.
