Women’s Welfare to Women-Led Development

#GS-2 #Governance & Social Justice #Women #Vulnerable Sections #GS-3 #Economy #Inclusive Growth #Quick Facts For Prelims

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India changed its approach to helping women from basic welfare to women-led development.
Programs now focus on education, health, skills, money access, and leadership training for women.
Women now drive economic growth and social change instead of just receiving aid.
Nari Shakti is now a main part of achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Under the old welfare system, women were treated as passive receivers of government help and subsidies.
The new development approach gives women tools like capital, property ownership, and leadership training to succeed.
Old welfare programs only gave basic food rations or low-wage work to help families survive.
The new development model helps women become business owners and job creators.
Women now get collateral-free business loans through schemes like Mudra and Stand-Up India to join the formal economy.
Old policies were made by men for women, where women only participated by voting.
The 106th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2023 (Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam) gives 33% reservation in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
Articles 243D and 243T of the Constitution guarantee one-third reservation for women in Panchayats and Municipalities.
Women officers received Permanent Commission following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Secretary, Ministry of Defence v. Babita Puniya.
Admissions to the National Defence Academy (NDA) opened to women in 2021 to strengthen national security roles.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) launched in 2015 to stop gender-biased sex selection.
The National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) shows the sex ratio improved to 1,020 women for every 1,000 men, up from 943 in the 2011 Census.
Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) gives direct money support of Rs 5,000 for the first child and Rs 6,000 for a second girl child.
The PMMVY scheme enrolled 4.92 crore beneficiaries as of April 2026.
Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) offers free health check-ups on the 9th of every month.
PMSMA completed over 6.85 crore check-ups and tracked 1.03 crore high-risk pregnancies.
The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) dropped to 88 per lakh live births (2021-2023) from 130 in 2014-15.
Schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) pushed institutional births from 79% to 90.6% (2023-24).

Ayushman Bharat (AB-PMJAY) created 43.52 crore health cards by February 2026.
Women account for nearly 49% (21 crore) of these health cards and 48% of hospital admissions.
Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) linked over 95 crore records using ABHA accounts, helping women access digital health services.
Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 upgraded 1.03 lakh Anganwadi Centres and trained 10.58 lakh frontline workers.
Frontline workers use diet diversity and NEP tools to fight child malnutrition.
Mission Indradhanush vaccinated over 1.32 crore pregnant women using the digital U-WIN portal.
Healthcare workers screened 8.73 crore women for cervical cancer by February 2026.

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 puts gender inclusion at the center of the school system using the Gender Inclusion Fund.
Female school enrollment rose from 1.57 crore (32%) in 2014-15 to 11.93 crore (48%) today through Samagra Shiksha.
Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) provide residential schooling, growing to 7.58 lakh girls by 2026.
School infrastructure improved with 97.3% of schools having separate toilets for girls and 99.3% having clean drinking water in 2024-25.
The AICTE PRAGATI Scholarship helped add over 12 lakh women to higher education between 2014-15 and 2022-23.
The Vigyan Jyoti Scheme trained over 1.12 lakh girls across 300 districts for STEM careers.
Supernumerary seats at IITs and NITs raised women student numbers from below 10% to over 20%.

Women form nearly 45% of all beneficiaries in the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY).
The new PMKVY 4.0 teaches modern skills like AI, drones, green energy, and electronics.
The NAVYA Initiative started in 2025 for girls aged 16 to 18 in Aspirational districts to build financial and digital skills.

Rural women formed 93.85 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with over 10.07 crore members under the DAY-NRLM scheme.
These groups received over Rs 12 lakh crore in bank credit to start businesses.
Programs like Krishi Sakhis, Pashu Sakhis, and SVEP supported over 5.88 lakh enterprises for steady income.
The Lakhpati Didi plan aims to help 6 crore SHG members earn at least Rs 1 lakh every year.
The NaMo Drone Didi scheme started in 2023 trains women to fly agricultural drones.
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) gave universal bank accounts to women for direct benefit transfers.
Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) grew loan amounts from Rs 1.37 lakh crore in 2015-16 to Rs 40.07 lakh crore by March 2026.
PM SVANidhi gives working capital to street vendors, where women make up 46% of beneficiaries.
The *Womaniya* platform on GeM lets over 2.1 lakh women-led businesses sell directly to the government.
The Union Budget 2026-27 introduced *SHE-Marts* to create physical shops for 1 crore SHG women.

Mission Shakti runs 973 One Stop Centres that helped 14.49 lakh women, along with a 24/7 helpline number 181.
Mission Shakti uses *Nari Adalats* for local dispute resolution at the village level.
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) built over 12 crore household toilets and 6.3 lakh public toilets, declaring over 5 lakh villages ODF Plus.
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U 2.0) registered 96% of houses directly in women's names.
PMUY provided 10.55 crore free LPG connections to stop indoor air pollution.
Jal Jeevan Mission gave tap water to nearly 16 crore rural families, saving women from walking long distances for water.

In the 2024 elections, women made up 48.62% of voters with a 65.78% turnout rate.
The 2024 elections sent 75 women to the Lok Sabha, while women form nearly 17% of the Rajya Sabha.
Over 14.5 lakh elected women serve in local Panchayati Raj Institutions, making up 46% of local leaders.
The first batch of 17 women cadets graduated from the National Defence Academy (NDA) in 2025.
By early 2026, 158 women cadets joined the academy.
Leaders like Air Marshal Padmavathy Bandopadhyay, Lt Gen Punita Arora, and Sub-Lieutenant Shivangi broke major defence barriers.
Colonel Sofiya Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh became the faces of Operation Sindoor.