Raipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that economic empowerment has become widespread in every village in the country because of the sustained efforts towards this by the Centre.
He indicated that the Centre would launch ‘Namo Drone Didi Yojana’ on Monday.
Under the scheme, drones will be provided to the women beneficiaries. They will also be imparted training to operate the drones.
Launching a welfare scheme for women, christened as ‘Mahtari Vandan Yojana’, in Chhattisgarh virtually, Mr Modi said that the Centre as well as the state BJP government has set empowerment of women as their priority.
Mr Modi disbursed the first instalment of Rs 1,000 each to 70,12,417 women beneficiaries in Chhattisgarh under the scheme by clicking a button, on the occasion.
The state government has released a total Rs 655.57 crore for the purpose. Under the scheme, the women beneficiaries are given a monthly incentive of Rs 1,000. “This money will continue to come into your accounts every month without any hassle”, Mr Modi said. Mr Modi lauded chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai for fulfilling a pre-poll promise by launching the Mahtari Vandan Yojana within three months of coming to power in the state.
“Modi’s guarantee is the assurance of fulfilling the guarantee”, he said.
Mr Modi said that today, women are the primary beneficiaries of various schemes, including the distribution of affordable cylinders through the Ujjwala Yojana.
Over half of Jan Dhan accounts are now held by women, while more than 65 percent of Mudra loans have been acquired by women, particularly young women who have initiated their entrepreneurial ventures.
In the last ten years, our government has changed the lives of more than ten crore women through self-help groups (SHGs), he said.
“With the efforts of our government, over one crore women have become ‘lakhpati didi’. Now, we aim to make three crore women 'lakhpati didi’ across the country”, he said.
“Economic empowerment has become widespread in every village because of the efforts of our government”, he added.
Underlining the measures undertaken by the Centre for the welfare of women, he said that earlier, the scarcity of toilets used to cause embarrassment for mothers, but now, having toilets has helped them avoid health issues.
Mr Modi also praised the chief minister for fulfilling many promises made to the people ahead of the November Assembly polls within three months forming the government in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sai thanked Mr Modi for launching the scheme, saying that "The day for which these women were eagerly waiting has arrived today”.
