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.

He made these observations here while participating in the ‘Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat’ programme and witnessed agricultural drone demonstrations conducted by Namo Drone Didis at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa.

The Namo Drone Didi and Lakhpati Didi initiatives are integral to the Prime Minister’s vision of fostering economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women, especially in rural areas.

His third term will write a new chapter in the rise of women power, Modi said exuding confidence of 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.

He said political parties like the Congress made fun of him and insulted him for this. He asserted that what he saw at his home, in his neighbourhood and villages during his travels shaped his sensibilities and schemes for women.

Over Rs 8 lakh crore has been disbursed among women under various government schemes, Modi said. Over 1 crore women have become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ so far, he said.

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.

Modi also felicitated ‘Lakhpati Didis’, who have achieved success with the support of the ‘Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission’ and are supporting the upliftment of other self-help group members.

During the event, he handed over drones to 1,000 ‘Namo Drone Didis’, women chosen to operate drones for agriculture and related purposes.

He also disbursed about Rs 2,000 crore Capitalisation Support Fund to SHGs.

The ‘Namo Drone Didi’ and ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiatives are integral to the prime minister’s vision of fostering economic empowerment and financial autonomy among women, especially in rural areas, the Prime Minister’s Office had said earlier in a statement. Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said the Narendra Modi government’s focus is on empowering women in different ways and the over 10 crore women associated with self-help groups are the face of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

At the ‘Sashakt Nari-Viksit Bharat’ programme, Singh said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, work was being done for the economic independence of women at such a large scale for the first time.

“There are 20 crore rural households in the country. We have reached out to 10 crore women who are now linked with self-help groups... Ten crore women have been empowered,” he said, adding, “Aatmanirbhar Mahila (self-reliant women) will be the real face of Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

Singh also mentioned schemes such as Ujjwala, Swachch Bharat, PM Poshan, Jal Jeevan, Mudra Yojana, Ayushman Bharat, and PM Awas Yojana, among others to highlight the works done by the BJP dispensation for the welfare of the people.