The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, attended the National Women Livelihood Meet-2019,held at Deendayal Hastkala Sankul in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on International Women’s Day.The Prime Minister visited the exhibition on products manufactured by Self Help Groups aided by Uttar Pradesh Rural Livelihood Mission. He distributed Electric Chaak, Solar Charkha and Honey Warp to women beneficiaries and appreciation letters to five women Self Help Groups. Various women Self Help Groups supported by Deendayal Anthodia Yojana, NRLM-Uttar Pradesh, handedover a cheque of Rs.21 lakh to the Prime Minister,astheir contribution towards ‘Bharat Ke Veer’ Fund.Paying his respect to all women on International Women’s Day, Prime Minister said that women have an important role in creating New India. He expressed happiness that over65 lakh women from around 75000 locations are participating in the event through video conference. He added that Varanasi is a shining example of women empowerment.The Prime Minister said thatgovernment is completely committed towards the empowerment of women. He mentioned about the various schemes initiated by the Union Government for the welfare of women and girl children, especially in the fields of health, nutrition, sanitation, education, skill development, self-employment, new gas connections andensuring safety and security of women. He said that maternity leave of six months introduced by the government is one of the best in the world.
Women are given priority in all Union Government schemes, PM said. He added that eleven crore out of the fifteen crore Mudra Loans given out so far, have been given to women.Appreciating the exceptional work done by Self Help Groups in India, PM said that their work is not only resulting in the betterment of their family but also leading to the development of nation. He said that the government is giving new energy to the Self Help Groups in terms of better bank loans and support systems. Around fifty lakh Self Help Groups covering around six crore women are now present in the country, PM added. He said that the vision of his government is to connect at least one women member in every family with a Self Help Group.The Prime Minister urged the Self Help Groups to be innovative and understand theirmarket better. He asked them to utilize the GEM portal to sell their products to the Government. Self Help Groups should spread to new sectors wherever there is scope for their involvement, PM said.The Prime Minister asked women to fully utilize the recently launched Pradhan MantriShramMaan-dhanYojana, as it provides financial security during old age. He also mentioned about the benefits of PM KisanSammanNidhi and Ayushman Bharat Yojana.The Prime Minister also interacted with the members of Self Help Groups in Varanasi.