International Women's Day: How the Modi Govt. is revolutionizing the lives of women

On the 8^th of March every year, one celebrates International Women’s Day. It is a day to appreciate and acknowledge women.

I thought it would be a good opportunity to list down 5 important schemes of the Narendra Modi Govt. ever since he took over as the Prime Minister (PM) in May’14.

In his first Independence Day speech as the PM, when Modi spoke about building toilets for women, it surprised quite a few and shocked a few others. However, what he spoke were not mere words. Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission in Oct’14 till date, over 11 crore toilets have been built across all states/Union Territories.

That such a simple thing took so long to identify and build is something that most of struggle to even wrap our heads around. But that is exactly what Modi did. He looked at a few simple things and thought of ways to resolve them to ease the day-to-day lives of women. No wonder women are voting in higher numbers for Modi and the BJP.

Another scheme of the Modi Govt. is the Jal Jeevan Mission which was announced in Aug’19. As at date, ~75% of the rural households have been provided with tap water connections; 11 states & Union Territories have achieved 100% coverage in rural areas. Again such a simple thing – clean running water flowing from a tap in one’s home; something most of us take for granted. And yet it was not thought upon till Modi appeared on the scene.

One of the most important schemes in my opinion is the Ujjwala Yojana, launched in May’16, to provide LPG gas connections in rural households, which were hitherto using wood, coal, etc. to cook. Studies have shown how cooking with wood and coal leads to acute and chronic respiratory diseases, in addition to eye irritations. Till 2022, 9.49 crore LPG connections have been provided to the beneficiaries.

The Jan-Dhan Yojana – the flagship scheme for financial inclusion – was launched in Aug’14. Its aim is financial inclusion for all in the form of banking facilities. As at date, 56% of the bank accounts belong to women.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao was launched in Jan’15 to address the declining gender ratio. The scheme’s success lies in the fact that the sex ratio at birth has improved by 15 points from 918 in 2014-15 to 933 in 2022-23 in India.

All the above schemes are to empower women and give them a sense of dignity. Before the toilets were built, women often had to travel long distances that too either before sunrise or late at night. In addition to safety, building toilets has also reduced the prevalence of diseases. Before tap water, women ended up having to spend a large part of their day travelling to water sources to fill up and store water. They no longer need to do that courtesy the Jal Jeevan Mission. The direct benefit of Ujjwala Yojana is the health benefits it provided to women, who are more likely to cook in a household. Having one’s own bank account gives one a sense of financial independence. Saving the girl child and valuing her is a huge societal improvement metric.