Dr S Jaishankar explains how ‘Women empowerment’ led development in India in recent times

While addressing at the fourth plenary session of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2025 Convention, on the topic `Diaspora Divas: Celebrating Women`s Leadership and Influence – Nari Shakti`, Minister of external affairs of India, Dr Jaishankar explained how ‘Women empowerment’ led development in India in recent times. He said, “Improvement in National Sex Ratio, paid maternity leave to 26 weeks, the fact that 300 million MUDRA Yojana loans have been given out to women entrepreneurs, that 43% of the enrollment today in STEM is of girls, that 28% has been the increase in the female enrollment in higher education, that 32 million Sukanya Samriddhi accounts have been opened up for education, that 100 million smoke-free kitchens today or that when there is a housing scheme called Awas under which 40 million homes have been built and handed over and 72% of them have women ownership - either a sole ownership or as joint ownership. I am mentioning this because when we think of progress, of modernity, of a march towards Viksit Bharat, one metric of measuring it is GDP, how many roads have been built, how many metros, how many cities, how many airports - that is certainly a way but that is superficial unless we address the human side of that progress and to my mind today, these are really some of the powerful changes which are happening in India. But like any change, they require role models, they require inspirations, they require divas.”