Women's empowerment might be merely a slogan elsewhere, but not in Andhra Pradesh as the Government under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is charting a welfare course in letter and spirit. The Navaratnalu, the nine precious gems, proved more than ornamental for the beneficiaries with the various welfare schemes ushering in inclusive growth and developing human capital.
The chain of Navaratnalu has a common thread -- that of women’s empowerment, socially, economically and politically. The dedicated implementation of the same by the Chief Minister since he assumed office in May 2019 has changed the polity of the State for good. His motto is “Every girl in the state should become a graduate, every woman a lakhpati, and the modern Indian woman of the 21st century must emerge from Andhra Pradesh.”
It is not just about formulating or implementing welfare schemes. The acid test lies in ensuring the benefits reach the intended sections without pilferage or diversions. For a long time, the so-called wise men have not been able to come up with a viable solution or an effective module for this.But the commitment and determination of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has shown the way through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and made sure that every single rupee reached the beneficiary on the date with just the click of a button, saving time and energy of beneficiaries, who had to earlier run from pillar to post approaching officials at multiple points.
The padayatra, Praja Sankalpa Yatra, undertaken by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy before the 2019 elections, gave him an idea of what the common person expects from the Government. A closer look shows that women form a major chunk of the beneficiaries under Navaratnalu.
While Amma Vodi, Fees Reimbursement, Aarogyasri, YSR Asara and YSR Cheyutha and Housing for the poor are from the Navaratnalu, Jagan walked the extra mile to empower women with various other schemes providing them a place of pride in the socio-politico-economic spectrum.
The fulcrum of any scheme lies in the finances. Jagan has worked out the dynamics well which explains why his vision has been fortified with fiscal commitment to women’s empowerment covering as many as 24 schemes exclusively for women and girls, and 29 schemes which have at least 30 per cent allocation for women and girls.
The female literacy rate in Andhra Pradesh for 2017-18 was 59.5 per cent against the national average of 70.3 due to the failure of the previous government. Starting with Amma Vodi, meaning a Mother’s Lap, the Government has incentivised mothers to send their children to school. A financial assistance of Rs 15,000 a year is credited directly into her account, which has increased the enrollment of children, especially of the girl child, in schools.
Amma Vodi has seen a steep increase in Gross Enrollment Ratio for girls at the secondary level. While the GER in 2015-16 was 76.8 against national average of 80.97, it went up in 2019-20 academic year to 81.2 against the national average of 77.8.
Mana Badi Nadu Nedu is another novel scheme to revamp government schools with 10 vital elements which include, clean toilets with running water, drinking water supply, major and minor repairs, electrification with fans and tubelights , furniture for students and staff, green chalk boards, painting of schools, an English Lab, and a compound wall.
After education, it is the health of women that the Jagan government has taken up for the development of human capital. The health of women and girls is of major importance at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
YSR Aarogyasri is the scheme which addresses the health issues of people below the poverty line bringing quality healthcare within their reach. It helps those with an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh. The scheme can be availed in 1,577 empanelled network hospitals covering 2,346 procedures and 138 follow-up procedures for cashless treatment. QR Code Smart Cards are given to them which have documents of their medical history through Aarogyasri App. To reduce maternal mortality, the government has revised norms of normal and caesarean deliveries on a par with CGHS at Rs 8,000 and Rs 14,050, respectively.
The Government has also introduced the YSR Aarogya Aasara scheme for post-operative allowance for those who undergo treatment under YSR Aarogyasri, which compensates women for their wage loss during pregnancy or other treatments.
For the economic empowerment of women, the key indicators include employment, access to money and credit and ownership of assets. The schemes for economic empowerment include Jagananna Amma Vodi with 44,48,865 beneficiaries, YSR Sunna Vaddi (Self-Help Groups) 98 lakh, YSR Cheyutha 25 lakh, YSR Aasara 79 lakh, YSR Kapu Neshtham 3.27 lakh, YSR EBC Nestham 3.92 lakh, and housing sites 30.76 lakh beneficiaries.
Women also benefit through other schemes such as Jagananna Vidya Deevena, Jagananna Vasathi Deevena, Jagananna Vidya Kanuka, Jagananna Goru Muddha, YSR Sampoorna Poshana, Jagananna Chedodu, Jagananna Pension Kanuka and Jagananna Thodu.The State has tied up with major companies such as Proctor & Gamble, and Reliance, besides Amul Cooperative to assist women in entrepreneurship, and banks have been asked to lend soft loans.
YS Jagan has been a pioneer in bringing administration closer to people and make them experience the fruits of governance. He could do this by putting in place a delivery mechanism in the form of Village and Ward Secretariats. The village and ward volunteer system, where women are more than one third, has been a great success.
On the political front, empowerment can be seen from the composition of the cabinet with the post of Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister going to women besides the Deputy Chairperson of the Legislative Council. The State has also enacted a legislation providing 50 per cent reservation to women in all nominated posts, which is revolutionary in modern Indian history. Of the total 13 Zilla Parishad chairpersons, seven are women. Among 202 AMC chairpersons, 101 are women. Of the 1154 directors to Corporations and Trusts, 586 are women. These are only a few to quote. All these speak of the government’s commitment to the empowerment of women on the political front.
As of now, the downloads of Disha App are more than 1.2 crore. The number of girls and women saved with the use of this app are more than 900. The concept of the Disha Bill has been widely appreciated as the speed of punishment is faster. Women police in all village and ward secretariats, Disha police stations, 13 special courts in 13 districts, and dedicated public prosecutors are some more initiatives worthy of mentioning. It is not words, but actions speak a lot louder.