New Delhi, Dec 06: Union Minister of State Dr Jitendra Singh said, that Indian women are gradually evolving from participatory to leadership role and constitute an essential component of nation’s inclusive growth as envisaged by Prime Minister Modi.
Inaugurating a conference titled, “Women Leading Change in Health and Science in India” in New Delhi on Tuesday, in the august presence of Melinda French Gates, co-chair and Trustee Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Jitendra Singh said, women leaders are a crucial part of the new India growth story, as projects, programmes and policies are now moving from women-specific to women-led, or we can say from an era of women participation to an era of women leadership.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, that the women power has already arrived, but there is a need for change in mindset. He said that time has come to avail the change being led by the women, as they are increasingly becoming initiators of policies, rather than passive consumers of government initiatives.
Dr Jitendra Singh referred to Prime Minister’s recent statement that India cannot achieve success if 50 per cent of the population, being women, are locked at home. He quoted Modi as saying, “From financial inclusion to social security, quality healthcare to housing, education to entrepreneurship, many efforts have been made to put our Nari Shakti at the forefront of India’s development journey. These efforts will continue with even greater vigour in the coming times.”
Dr Jitendra Singh enumerated eight revolutionary decisions of the Modi government in the last eight years to empower women and make them lead India’s development journey and these are-A Door to Dignity through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Ensuring Smoke-Free Homes by Ujjwala Yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission to protect Women’s Dignity, Drinking Water at the Door-Step through Jal Jeevan Mission, Empowering Women Entrepreneurs through schemes like Stand-Up India and PM MUDRA Yojana, Giving Wings to Girl Child (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao), Fighting Malnutrition through POSHAN Abhiyaan and providing security to Muslim women by abolishment of Triple Talaq. The Minister said, nurturing and task-oriented leadership styles, management practices, and organisational orientation, particularly adopted by women leaders and entrepreneurs, has carved a niche for women leadership at both national and international levels.
Dr Jitendra Singh lauded the noble intentions of Gates Foundations for committing around 40 million USD till July, 2022 through its collaboration with Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Grand Challenges India (implemented by BIRAC) and the Foundation has an additional commitment of 25 million USD for the next five years. The Minister said, conferences like “Leading Change: Women in Health and Science in India” are good opportunities to showcase emerging changes in the way leadership is practised and perceived in India and how women can be promoted to leadership roles with the right mentoring and support. These platforms will certainly help in creating momentum toward parity and more gender-inclusive culture and policies, he added.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that women scientists have carved a niche for themselves in science-based Start-ups, STEM, IT, Space, Nuclear Science, Drone and Nano-technology and informed that many of the big scientific projects including that of Gaganyaan are being led by women scientists. He said, the remarkable success of the second lunar mission Chandrayaan-2, led by two female scientists from the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), is an inspiration for all the women working in sectors like health, education, business, medicine, sports and agriculture.
Dr Jitendra Singh said, DBT and BIRAC have implemented a number of dedicated schemes and programs to promote women researchers and entrepreneurs across the country. The STEP-Support to Training and Employment Program launched under Start-up India initiative aims to provide skills that give employability to women and to provide competencies and skill that enable women to become self-employed/entrepreneurs.
