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Empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in ten years of the Modi government, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday and noted that 83 lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming the rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance.
Presenting the interim budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said that 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs. The minister said that measures such as making 'triple talaq' illegal, reservation of one-third seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, and giving over seventy per cent houses under PM Awas Yojana in rural areas to women as sole or joint owners have enhanced their dignity. "The empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in these ten years. 83 lakh SHGs with nine crore women are transforming rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance," the minister said. "Their success has assisted nearly one crore women to become 'Lakhpati Didi' already. They are an inspiration to others. Their achievements will be recognized through honouring them. Buoyed by the success, it has been decided to enhance the target for Lakhpati Didi from 2 crore to 3 crore," she added. The minister talked about the growing share of women in higher education including in science and engineering. "Thirty crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs. Female enrolment in higher education has gone up by twenty-eight per cent in ten years. In STEM courses, girls and women constitute forty-three per cent of enrolment - one of the highest in the world. All these measures are getting reflected in the increasing participation of women in workforce," she said. STEM refers to science, technology, engineering and mathematics and subjects that fall under these four disciplines. (ANI)
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