India News | Women Play Crucial Role in Progress of Society: CM Saini

Chandigarh, Mar 8 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Saturday said women play the most crucial role in the progress of any society, and when women progress, they uplift their families, strengthen society, and drive the nation's growth.

He was addressing a state-level 'Mahila Samman Samaroh' organised on the occasion of International Women's Day in Panchkula, said an official release.

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Saini said mothers, sisters, and daughters of the nation will contribute greatly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India by 2047.

While extending his greetings on the occasion, Saini announced several key initiatives for women's welfare, including an increase in the leave granted to women employees on special days.

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Saini announced that regular female government employees in Haryana will now receive 25 annual leaves instead of 20.

Similarly, women employees deployed under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN) were previously entitled to 10 annual leaves, but now they will receive one additional leave every month, increasing their total leave entitlement to 22 days per year.

Saini also announced that women in Haryana will be provided interest-free loans of up to Rs 1 lakh to establish dairy units.

He said that under the Mahila Kirshi Virdhi Yojana, the government is committed to providing interest-free loans to women from farming families for activities such as livestock rearing, beekeeping, poultry farming, dairy farming, and other agricultural enterprises.

Saini virtually inaugurated 44 new Anganwadi centres across the state and laid the foundation stone for Bal Bhavan in Charkhi Dadri.

He also launched three key portals to enhance governance and welfare services --the Domestic Violence Complaint Registration and Monitoring portal to streamline reporting and tracking of domestic violence cases, the MIS Portal for Aapki Beti-Hamari Beti to improve the scheme's implementation, and the Supplementary Nutrition programme (SNP) Demand and Supply portal to ensure efficient monitoring of nutritional supplement distribution.

"Today is not only a day to honour women but also to express our gratitude towards them. If we see the world as beautiful, empowered, and strong today, it is largely due to the contributions of women," he said.

He said that to build a developed India, it is crucial to ensure the equal participation of women in the nation's progress.

Saini said it is impossible to dedicate just one day to honour those who make every day meaningful and reiterated the saying, "Behind every successful person, there is a woman".

Reflecting on his own success, the chief minister acknowledged that his achievements are largely due to the unwavering support and contribution of his mother.

He said that over the last 10 years, under the leadership of Modi, society's outlook towards women has transformed and respect for them has increased.

He recalled that when the state government took charge, the gender ratio and female foeticide were quite alarming. Saini said Haryana was seen as a state where daughters were being killed.

However, after the launch of the 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' campaign by the prime minister in Panipat, the state's gender ratio, which was 871 in 2014, has now risen to 916.

Saini said the Haryana government has taken numerous significant steps to empower women.

He said the state presently has 64,500 self-help groups, and women's self-help groups are now eligible for stamp duty exemptions on loans up to Rs 5 lakh. Additionally, 33 per cent of ration depots have been allocated to women, with 252 depots assigned in the last four months, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)