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Reportedly prime minister Narendra Modi on monday cited a host of women-centric schemes of his government to assert that only a society which boosts women’s standing and creates opportunities for them can advance. His third term will write a new chapter in the rise of women’s power, Modi said at a ‘Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat’ program, exuding confidence in retaining power in the upcoming lok sabha elections.
In a swipe at previous governments, he said women’s lives and hardships were not a priority for them while the bjp dispensation has come out with different initiatives to help them at every stage of life. Modi said he is the first prime minister who spoke of a host of issues related to women, including lack of toilets, use of sanitary pads, adverse effects of smoke-causing kitchen fuels like wood and coal, and the need for bank accounts from the ramparts of the red Fort, a reference to his Independence Day speeches.
The prime minister said that his experience has been that a little help to women can make them a help to others. Those politicians who are only concerned about their families can never understand this, he said. At the ‘Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat’ programme, Modi disbursed around Rs 8,000 crore as bank loans to self-help groups (SHGs). He interacted with women beneficiaries from different parts of the country, enquired about various aspects of their work and lauded their hard work and determination. During the event, he handed over drones to 1,000 ‘Namo Drone Didis’, women chosen to operate drones for agriculture and related purposes.