FM Sitharaman Highlights Women as Key Drivers of Progress in India

By: WE Staff | Monday, 9 June 2025

• FM Sitharaman highlights Schemes to empower Nari Shakti
• FM Sitharaman emphasizes ‘11 years of Sashakt Nari’ led by Modi Government

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the various schemes launched by the Modi government in order to empower Nari Shakti in India. She spoke about the strides made in women’s empowerment over the last 11 years and how women have become key drivers of India’s progress.

FM Sitharaman highlighted ‘11 years of Sashakt Nari’, focusing on the PM Jan Dhan Yojna which is the world’s largest financial inclusion scheme. She made note that 55.7 percent of accounts under the initiative were held by women.

She also highlighted that women currently represent 68 percent of the MUDRA loan recipients across the country. These loans have allowed numerous women to start their own businesses and chase their aspirations independently.

In addition to this, 74 percent of individuals receiving benefits from the Start-Up India entrepreneurs program are women as well. Moreover, 73 percent of homes under the PMAY (Gramin) initiative for the underprivileged are possessed by women, she stated.

FM Sitharaman also spoke about 10 crore LPG connections that have been provided to poor women under the Ujjwala Yojana. These have been a significant blessing for them, simplifying their lives and providing health advantages. They have been liberated from the toxic smoke of wood and other fuels, like cow dung, that were formerly used for cooking.

The Jan Dhan scheme has emerged as a significant success in financial inclusion since the average bank balance in each account has increased from Rs 1,065 in March 2015 to Rs 4,352 now. She also noted that about 80% of the accounts are currently operational.

In rural and semi-urban regions, 66.6% of Jan Dhan accounts have been opened, and 29.56 crore (55.7%) of those accounts are owned by female account holders.

These accounts are widely used. Additionally, individuals are making deposits into them. But only 8.4% of accounts have a zero balance, and this plan permits zero balance accounts.