Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday announced that the Central government is planning to make two crore "lakhpati didis" in villages across the country in a step towards empowering women. The Lakhpati Didi scheme is aimed to promote skill development training for two crore women and to encourage them to start their own small businesses.
"It is my dream to make two crore lakhpati didis in villages, when you go to a village, you will find 'bank-wali didi, Anganwadi didi and dawai-wali (medicine) didi. It is my dream to make two crore lakhpati didis in villages," PM Modi said during his Independence Day speech.
A senior official, as quoted by news agency PTI, said that the Lakhpati Didi scheme has already been initiated in some states with the Centre now planning to train around two crore women under the welfare venture.
Stressing the need for women to flourish in every field of work, the official said that women taking part in the Lakhpati Didi scheme will be trained in skills which include plumbing, LED bulb making, operating and repairing drones among others.
PM Modi observed that more women in comparison to men are studying in the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, in recent times. He added that India's approach to women-led development was also acknowledged during the G-20 Summit.
"The one thing that will take the country forward is women-led development. Today, we can proudly say that India has the maximum number of pilots in civil aviation. Women scientists are leading the Chandrayaan mission. The G-20 countries are also recognising the importance of women-led development," PM Modi remarked.
The Prime Minister lauded the women's self-help groups (SHGs) and said that the Centre will soon launch a scheme to train 15,000 women SHGs to operate drones used in agricultural work. "We are working to meet the target," he said.
Taking note of crime against women, he said that it is every citizen's responsibility to ensure that the country's daughters don't face any atrocities.
(With Agency Inputs)