Women's Day 2023: Women defying gender norms to make impact - Best women empowerment schemes in India

Women's Day 2023: International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8. This day is observed to create awareness about gender equality. Women’s Day aims to celebrate women and addresses issues such as women's equal rights, violence and abuse against women, and reproductive rights.

India as a nation celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and has also launched many schemes to empower them.

Nehal Mota, co-founder, Finnovate, said that women are changing the game by defying gender norms and leveraging their unique skill sets to create impactful businesses. They have developed strong networking and collaboration skills and are leveraging technology to disrupt traditional business models and create innovative solutions to long-standing problems. The support from the government and schemes dedicated to women are playing a crucial role.

"Women are applying their creativity, empathy, and perseverance to develop products and services that cater to the unique needs of various sectors, including education, healthcare, finance, and e-commerce. Through their hard work, determination, and innovation, they are inspiring a new generation of female leaders to pursue their dreams and create impact," she said.

Amandeep Kaur, founder and CEO, Phoenix TalentX Branding, said that women entrepreneurs have really given a tremendous boost to the education and cosmetics, beauty, wellness and Ayurveda industry. Women entrepreneurs like Falguni Nayar, Vineeta Singh, Ghazal Alagh, Namita Thapar, Divya Gokulnath are all shining examples of how women entrepreneurs are becoming the face of the country.

"The Indian cosmetic industry alone is expected to touch 38 billion by 2028! That is the value addition of women to India’s economic growth apart from creating more jobs, and opportunities for the nation," she said.

Here are 5 schemes that are introduced by the government to address the need for education, safety and financial independence.

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1. Mahila Samman Bachat Patra Scheme or Mahila Samman Saving Certificate Scheme

In the Budget 2023, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a savings scheme for women and girls called Mahila Samman Bachat Patra Scheme or Mahila Samman Saving Certificate Scheme. This scheme aims to empower women and girls financially. It is a one-time new small saving scheme that offers an interest rate of 7.5 per cent for a maximum deposit of Rs 2 lakh. The scheme will be available for years up to March 2025.

2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

Under the initiative ‘Beti Padhao–Beti Bachao’ the government started a savings scheme for girl children. Under this scheme, a girl child who is 10 years of age or younger can open an account. This scheme carries a higher interest rate along with several tax benefits. According to the Indian Post Office, a legal guardian/natural guardian can open an SSA in the name of a girl child with a minimum deposit of Rs 250 and a maximum of 1,50,000 per financial year. The subsequent deposits in the account can be made in multiples of Rs 50.

3. Sakhi Niwas 

In order to provide working women with safe and convenient accommodation, the scheme named Sakhi Niwas was launched. The scheme is assisting projects for the construction of new hostel buildings, expansion of existing hostel buildings and hostel buildings in rented premises. The working women’s hostel projects being assisted under this scheme shall be made available to all working women without any distinction with respect to caste, religion, marital status etc.

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4. Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme (MSK)

The scheme’s objective is to provide “one stop convergent support services for empowering rural women with opportunities for skill development, employment, digital literacy, health and nutrition”. The Scheme will provide an interface for rural women to approach the government for availing their entitlements and for empowering them through awareness generation, training and capacity building. 

MSK acts as a link between local Administration, State Government and the Ministry of Women and Child Development for implementing Women Centric Schemes and programmes of the Government. This scheme aims to provide equal opportunities for women and men in access to education, health care, work advancement and representation in political and economic decision-making.

5. Women Helpline Scheme

This programme aims to provide 24-hour emergency assistance to women who have been victims of violence in private or public places. Women's helpline numbers have been made available in every state and union territory through a single toll-free number (181) that provides immediate assistance to women across the country.

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