Many big economies globally have maternity leave policy of a minimum of 3 months only. So, when my colleagues and friends in global organisations come to know that India has a mandatory 6-month maternity leave policy, they are still pleasantly surprised. As important as this reform is for women in the organised sector (bought of course by the Modi government), there was another scheme by the Modi government that caught my attention – the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.
The unorganised sector, such as agriculture, for example, has lakhs of women in rural and urban India where they have to work right up to the last days of pregnancy and resume working very soon after childbirth. They typically don’t have the luxury of a 6-month paid leave. The nature of the work also takes a toll both on their health and that of the baby.
Through the Matru Vandana Yojana, the Modi government started a direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme under which “cash benefits are provided to pregnant women in their bank account directly to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for wage loss”. Coupled with the POSHAN Abhiyaan (that emphasises the nutritional status of adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children from 0-6 years of age), a holistic support system has been developed for pregnant women & lactating mothers, in the unorganised sector!
While nutrition efforts were done earlier too, the direct cash transfer to also compensate for wage loss will bring in mental peace that cannot be quantified. Efforts such as these have improved the Maternal Mortality Rate from 132 per 1 lakh births to 97 per 1 lakh births. Now, you just have to ask yourselves why these women wouldn’t press the lotus button on the EVM.
While we are on the topic of pregnancy, the upper limit for termination of pregnancy has been increased from 20 weeks to 24 weeks. This is important because certain abnormalities can only be detected after 20 weeks, and therefore gives a medical option to terminate if necessary. While we continue on the topic of pregnancy, did you know that India did not have any law governing Surrogacy? Modi government is the first government to enact a law that lays down rules for both Surrogacy and Assisted Reproduction. This may not fetch votes yet but lawmaking is the first step to help prevent the exploitation of women (especially for Surrogacy).
In the unorganised sector, the participation of women in the workforce is much higher than in the organised sector. Women constitute nearly 57% of the popular MNREGA program (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act). An International Labour Organisation study has pointed out how India improved the gender pay gap in MNREGA itself, over the last 8 years. We have already discussed how the Modi government revolutionised MNREGA with excellent high funding. So, in summary, more women participate in MNREGA; they earn more money now than before; they earn equivalent to men unlike how it was before. Now, you just have to ask yourselves why these women wouldn’t press the lotus button on the EVM!
In the unorganised sector, the participation of women in entrepreneurial ventures is also higher than in the organised sector. Nearly 10 crore rural women are part of nearly 1 crore Self Help Groups. However, with Prime Minister Modi, it’s never about maintaining the status quo. From the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2023, he has announced the aim of creating 2 crore lakhpati didis from these groups. While announcing these, the Prime Minister has also spoken about skilling them even in the latest technologies such as drone repairing, and LED bulb making so that they aren’t far off from technology. The concept of the scheme is simple – make these women lakhpatis!
An endearing conversation with one such lakhpati didi gives a great glimpse of why these women feel so comfortable talking to the Prime Minister of India. The rural women have bought into the concept of thinking big and achieving big, and are now fully in tandem with the Prime Minister’s vision. Another conversation with women diary entrepreneurs of Varanasi is another proof of how big a hit he is. Now, you have to ask yourselves why these women wouldn’t press the lotus button on the EVM!
With so much money coming in, where would the women keep all this money? Gone are the days of hiding money at home, away from the prying eyes of others. The amazing success of the Jan Dhan Scheme means that all these women have their own bank accounts (Out of the total 51.80 crore accounts, 28.75 crore accounts are owned by women!) and therefore access to their own money in the safest manner possible.
Rural women are also now able to spend more time working (either as entrepreneurs or employees) because they now have to spend less time worrying about one basic necessity in their house – drinking water. We all have read about and also seen how women have to endure scorching conditions and walk long distances to get drinking water for their home, or we have witnessed the fights that break out at the water tanker that comes to your village. The Jal Jeevan Mission (the slogan is catchy – Har Ghar Nal se Jal) now ensures every house must have a tap and 55 litres of water supply every day. Nearly 12 crore households out of eligible 19 crore households have already been provided this connection. Now, you just have to ask why these women wouldn’t press the lotus button on the EVM!
Speaking of their homes; Swach Bharat has ensured toilets have been built, thus making it safer for women in rural areas; electricity availability is not a problem; electricity bills are also reduced through LED bulbs in the Ujala Scheme; cooking is through gas cylinders and not through inhaling dangerous smoke from wood (10 crore connections so far, through Ujjwala Scheme!) – I mean, I can go on and on, but do you see how holistic the focus on improving the lives of women, at home and at work, has been?
Through Beti Bachao, Beti Padao, our sex ratio at birth has improved from 918 in 2014-2015 to 933 in 2022 (meaning more girl children are born now or lesser girl children are being aborted now, as compared to before). Not only are more girl children studying now, but even the last barriers to their education have now been removed (Did you know that Sainik Schools didn’t allow admissions to girls? That rule was removed in 2021 by the Modi government).
The legal age for girls to get married was 18. It has now been changed to 21, on par with men. Can you imagine the possibilities this opens up for the girls to pursue education and careers of their choice? Where will they get the money, you ask? The answer lies in the Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme – a parent opens an account for the girl child and can deposit up to 1.5 lakhs every year until she is 21 years of age. The account gets ~8% interest every year; the girl can withdraw 50% of the amount when she reaches 18, for higher education purposes. After she reaches 21, the entire money is hers. And already 3 crore accounts are opened and have deposited 1,62,000 crores of money into this scheme!
And then there are the small things that matter big – for example, including victims of Acid attacks into the divyang category so that they get benefits meted out to the physically handicapped.
Not too long ago, we used to discuss the multi-fold problems that girls and women face in our country. There is perhaps no other government that has had such a holistic approach to improving the lives of women – at home, at school, and at work. And with the passing of the Women’s Reservation Bill in Parliament, we will now have 33% of women participation in law-making too. Now, ask yourselves again why crores of women wouldn’t press the lotus button on the EVM!
This is the 4th article in the series Decoding How PM Modi hacks EVMs (an allegation the opposition often throws at him). Part-1 speaks about the focus on small-scale entrepreneurs; Part-2 speaks about the revolutions in the labour/employment sector; Part-3 speaks about the focus on both prevention and cure in health.
