Smriti Irani lists 'historic strides' in women's financial empowerment

Smriti Irani, Minister for Women & Child Development

Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, delved into various critical issues, speaking at CNBC-TV18's "Future Female Forward" event, shedding light on the significant role women play in diverse sectors. From the low Non-Performing Asset (NPA) rate in loans to women to their substantial contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, Irani underscored the "historic strides" made towards women's financial empowerment.

The Minister emphasised breaking gender stereotypes, discussed the success of the Lakhpati Didi scheme, and highlighted how Indian women's work garnered international attention, prompting collaboration with corporates at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Mudra Yojana and Jan Dhan Yojana success

Smriti Irani underscored the success of financial initiatives like Mudra Yojana and Jan Dhan Yojana, with 240 million women opening bank accounts for the first time. She said 30 crore Mudra loans were availed by women.

"Mudra Yojana was not a gender financial instrument. The PM started Jan Dhan Yojana. 240 million women opened their bank accounts for the first time. 30 crore Mudra loans were taken by women only and this is a huge volume," Irani said.

Low NPA for women's loans

Irani said, notably, the Non-Performing Assets (NPA) for loans taken by women stood impressively low at around 2%.

"What is time for celebration is that the NPA for such loans taken by women is around 2%," said Irani.

Women in PPE manufacturing

Irani praised the resilience of Indian women during the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in PPE manufacturing. She emphasised that a remarkable 80% of the workforce involved in making PPE suits during the crisis were women.

Irani said, "When the Covid challenge came before us, we created machinery and regenerated raw material so that we could make PPE suits. In March 2020, there were no companies in India ready for manufacturing PPE suits. But by May 2020, we had 1100 companies and by June we became second largest exporters in the world. 80 percent of the workforce that turned up, when people were not coming out of their houses, to make PPE suits was female. So, when the going got tough, the women got going."

Frontline workers's contribution

She lauded the contributions of 6 million frontline female workers, including Anganwadi and Asha workers, who played a significant role in healthcare delivery to homes during lockdowns.

"During Covid, we had 6 million frontline workers who were women. We had 2.5 million Anganwadi workers, Asha workers, who went door to door taking pharmaceutical supplies, testing kits. They went to every family in need, to provide medical services to them. 6 million female workers emerged out when death was staring at their face," said Irani.

Global recognition

The minister emphasized India's global leadership, said a commitment from 10,000 companies at the World Economic Forum in Davos within 72 hours, showcases the nation's strength and talent.

Irani said, "The perception about our country today, not only with respect to our strength as a nation but also people and talent, capacity to deliver on promises is such that it took just 72 hours we had a commitment from 10000 companies at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and this is unheard of. We made an alliance for global good. If the future is female, it is definitely forward."

Vision for Lakhpati Didis

The vision for the future, as outlined by Prime Minister Modi, to make 3 crore women Lakhpatis, would be an unprecedented milestone.

"The PM aims to make 3 crore women Lakhpatis. This is unimaginable in our self help groups history. In the past 8 years, these self-help groups received 8.2 lakh crore from the government apart from the credit they also take from banks. This means they do volume of transactions and economic activity but they are not globally recognised as one of the great changes that have happened in economy," said Irani.

Gender parity report

Irani asserted the contributions of self-help groups, receiving 8.2 lakh crore from the government in the past 8 years. She noted that the computation of gender parity would now be included in official reports.

Irani underscroed that gender justice in India is seen as a journey of empowerment rather than shame.

Empowerment beyond borders

Irani emphasized that women in India come together not only for each other but for the greater good of the world.

Importance of Education and Health

Acknowledging the importance of education and health for women, Irani positioned India's democratic values as a unifying force capable of bringing together a fractured world.