Women Empowerment Vital For Development: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday emphasized the need for increased participation by women in all spheres of life including in entrepreneurship, stating that history had taught that women's empowerment was vital for the overall development of a society.

Addressing the inaugural of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in the city, the Prime Minister, who peppered his speech with historical anecdotes to highlight the contribution of women, said that the theme of the summit - "Women First, Prosperity for All" - made this edition of the GES stand out from the previous others.

Taking leaves out of Indian mythology and history, Modi said that in Indian mythology, woman was portrayed as an incarnation of Shakti - the goddess of power.

"We therefore believe that women's empowerment is vital to our development. History tells us that women have made remarkable contributions at every stage," he said. "Gargi, an ancient philosopher, around the seventh century BC, challenged a male sage to a philosophical discourse - something unheard of in those times. During the Indian freedom struggle, women were always in the forefront - our warrior queens like Rani Ahilyabai Holkar and Rani Lakshmibai fought bravely to defend their kingdoms. And Indian women continue to lead in different walks of life. Our space programmes, including the Mars Orbiter Mission, have had immense contribution from our women scientists. Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams, both of Indian origin, have been part of US space missions. In three of the four oldest courts in the country, women are judges. And Indian sportswomen have done the country proud - Hyderabad itself is home to some champions like Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu."

This recognition was leading his government to an even greater emphasis on women's rights and development, he said. "We are ensuring women's participation at the grass-root level in the country by bringing in reforms. And it is bearing fruit. More than 60% of workers in our agriculture and allied sectors are women. Our milk co-operatives in Gujarat and the Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad are examples of highly successful and globally acclaimed women-led co-operative movements," he said.

Speaking on entrepreneurship, the Prime Minister said that among the core qualities of an entrepreneur was the ability to see opportunity in adversity. "Those who think ahead of times are bound to be misunderstood. Most entrepreneurs would have gone through this experience," he added. "And our government recognizes that, and continues the Indian tradition of being an incubator for innovation and entrepreneurship. Our Start-Up India programme is a comprehensive action plan to foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation. It aims to minimize the regulatory burden and provide support to startups. Over 1,200 redundant laws have been scrapped, 87 rules for FDI have been eased in 21 sectors, and several government processes have been taken online."

The PM said that the summit would resonate with President Trump's declaring November 2017 as National Entrepreneurship Month. He also said that the event, jointly sponsored by the Indian and the US governments, would not only connect Silicon Valley with Hyderabad, but also strengthen the already close Indo-US ties.