Page 25 - NIS English 01-15 March, 2025

COVER STORY
INTERNATIONAL
WOMEN’S DAY
SPECIAL

women in the workplace is steadily
BOOSTING RESPECT WITH increasing. Of the 40 million houses
THE SWACHH BHARAT that have been given to families under
MISSION the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi about 75 per cent are owned by
announced the Swachh Bharat Mission women. There are also more than 9
from the ramparts of the Red Fort in
2014. This proved to be an important million self-help groups currently
step in terms of women’s self-respect. functioning in the country, in which
Under the Swachh Vidyalaya Mission, about 100 million women are involved.
it was ensured that all schools have at These women self-help groups are
least one functional toilet for girls. being given crores of rupees by the
government.
12 3,00,000
Toilets
have been ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
built in
deaths have been WITH SOCIAL JUSTICE
crore houses under the In the vision of a new India, empowering
prevented due to the
Swachh Bharat Mission.
Swachh Bharat Mission. women is not just seen as a matter of
social equality, but also as a crucial
RIGHT TO HOUSE UNDER PM factor for driving economic progress.
AWAS YOJANA The recognition and respect for
Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, women’s strength embodies the
priority was given to allocating houses essence of this emerging India.
in the name of women. At the same Honoring anonymous women who
time, now under the second phase of have become inspirations for society
the housing scheme in rural areas, it at the Padma Awards makes Amrit
has been made mandatory to allocate Yatra feel good. About 100 million
houses in the name of the female head. women involved in SHGs are from rural
4.53 Construction of 75% backgrounds, from disadvantaged
houses worth
of the approved
crore houses Rs 3.56 houses are owned families. These women at the bottom
approved by crore has been entirely or jointly by of society have been empowered, their
February 2, 2025. completed. women. social status has been raised and the
central government has increased their

TOP IN THE WORLD IN NUMBER OF WOMEN assistance to Rs 20 lakh so that they
REPRESENTATION can carry on this work. Continuous
efforts are being made to increase
To bring women into the mainstream of political leadership
at the grassroots level, the government made important their working capacity and scale. It is
having an extremely positive impact on
amendments to the Constitution. To promote women’s
the rural economy.
empowerment, 33% reservation for women was given from
Panchayat to Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha. The central government has set a
target of making 30 million women
n On September 28, 2023, n In the 73rd Amendment, at least
Nari Shakti Vandan Act, 33% of the seats in Panchayati Lakhpati in its third term and has
2023 (Constitution 106th Raj institutions have been emphasized on economic programmes.
Amendment), according to this, reserved for women. Today, many villages in the country are
there is a provision to reserve n There are currently more than talking about Drone Didi, it has brought
one-third of the seats for 14.50 lakh elected women
women in the Lok Sabha and representatives (EWRs) in the a psychological change in the village,
the State Legislative Assemblies Panchayati Raj Institution, seeing women driving drones in the
including the Legislative which is about 46% of the total hands of villagers is changing the
Assembly of the National elected representatives. attitude towards women and today
Capital Territory of Delhi.
NEW INDIA SAMACHAR // March 1-15, 2025 23