Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pratima Bhoumik was all praises for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his initiatives to empower women of India. Speaking at OTV’s annual convention, Foresight 2024, Bhoumik said that to realise PM Modi’s vision, there’s a need to create at least 2 crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ in the next two years.
“When we make a woman financially independent, her family runs well, domestic violence comes down, she gives quality education to her kids, she keeps herself healthy as well,” Bhoumik said.
"PM Modi announced a scheme during his Independence Day speech on August 15 last year which aimed at training women in self-help groups (SHGs) so that they can earn a sustainable income of at least Rs 1 lakh per annum per household," she said.
Speaking about her home state Tripura, Bhoumik said, “I had gone to a village in Tripura some days back. A woman SHG was felicitated for its works during the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. When I asked a group member, she said she earns Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 every month. We have 56,000 SHGs in Tripura, which has more than 5 lakh women members. Out of that, 83,000 women have already become ‘Lakhpati Didi’.”
Bhoumik also spoke about the NAMO Drone scheme. She said, “At least 15,000 women SHGs are going to be trained by 2025 to operate drones on the farmlands which can help sprinkle fertilizers. It will make them integral stakeholders of their local farming supply chains and rural prosperity.”
“Training has already started in many parts of India. Village women will now work on fields with the help of technology. Nobody had ever dared to think like that before 2014. But PM Modi thought this and he has made this a reality,” she added.
She went on to provide example of PM Jan Dhan Yojana. “When PM Jan Dhan Yojana was launched, many people criticised it saying who will open such an account. But now, more than 50 crore such accounts are in use, out of which 65 percent accounts belong to women,” she said.
“Similarly, more than 10 crore women availed LPG cylinders under Ujjwala scheme. We have never thought a Prime Minister would speak about making toilets standing at the Lal Quila. But Modi ji did, and he did it to safeguard the dignity of women. He gave us respect by providing the women with toilets,” Bhoumik added.
This edition of OTV’s annual convention ‘Foresight 2024 saw the participation of eminent personalities including Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Yog Guru Ramdev apart from Bhoumik.