Women are increasingly emerging as active participants in India’s development journey, with government interventions spanning health, education, skilling, entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, safety and political participation.
The government’s Sashakt Nari, Sashakt Bharat initiative brings together a range of programmes aimed at supporting women across different stages of life, from maternal and early childhood care to education, livelihoods and leadership.
Focus on maternal and child health
Under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, interventions focus on improving girls’ education, reducing school dropouts, promoting institutional deliveries and strengthening antenatal care.
The National Family Health Survey-5 recorded a sex ratio of 1,020 females per 1,000 males in 2019-21, compared with 943 in Census 2011.
The Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana provides maternity benefits through Direct Benefit Transfers. Under the scheme, women receive Rs 5,000 in two instalments for the first living child and Rs 6,000 for a second child if the child is a girl. As of July 31, 2026, more than 5.13 crore beneficiaries had been enrolled, with 4.37 crore beneficiaries receiving payments amounting to Rs 20,571 crore.
The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan provides free antenatal check-ups at government facilities on the ninth of every month, particularly focusing on high-risk pregnancies. More than 7.50 crore pregnant women have been examined under the programme, with over 6.85 crore antenatal check-ups conducted.
Under the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram, pregnant women are entitled to free delivery, including caesarean sections, at public health institutions, along with free transport, diagnostics, medicines, blood and diet.
The government said more than 1.99 crore pregnant women and 16.85 lakh sick infants benefited from the scheme in 2024-25.
The health indicators also show improvement, with first-trimester antenatal visits rising from 58.6 per cent in 2015-16 to 76.2 per cent in 2023-24. Institutional births increased from 78.9 per cent to 90.6 per cent during the same period.
Expanding access to education and skills
The government has also focused on improving girls’ access to education and supporting their continued participation through school and higher education.
Under Samagra Shiksha and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, female school enrolment stood at 11.96 crore in 2025-26. Enrolment in KGBVs increased from 6.07 lakh in 2020-21 to 7.58 lakh in 2025-26.
Several scholarship programmes have also been expanded. The Central Sector Scholarship reserves around half of its scholarships for meritorious girls from economically weaker families, while the National PG Scholarship provides Rs 1.5 lakh annually to selected students, including 3,000 women every year.
The AICTE PRAGATI Scholarship has offered 10,000 scholarships annually since 2014-15, benefiting nearly 36,000 girls by 2024-25.
Female enrolment in higher education increased to 2.18 crore in 2022-23, from 2.07 crore in 2021-22. Since 2014-15, female enrolment has increased by around 60.32 lakh.
Women’s participation in STEM has also expanded. The Vigyan Jyoti scheme has benefited more than 1.12 lakh girls across 300 districts since December 2019. Women’s participation in IITs and NITs has risen from below 10 per cent to more than 20 per cent following the introduction of supernumerary seats.
Skilling for new-age employment
Women are also increasingly being integrated into emerging technology and vocational skilling programmes.
Under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, nearly 45 per cent of beneficiaries are women. More than 28 lakh candidates have been trained under PMKVY 4.0, with over 19.36 lakh receiving certification.
The NAVYA initiative, launched in 2025, provides vocational training to girls aged 16-18 in areas such as digital marketing, cybersecurity and AI-enabled services. More than 1,060 girls had been trained under the programme as of June 2026.
Greater financial and economic participation
Women’s economic empowerment has also been supported through financial inclusion and self-help group networks.
Under the DAY-NRLM, self-help groups have accessed more than Rs 12.18 lakh crore in bank credit since inception. By June 2026, more than 4.32 lakh enterprises had been supported under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme.
The Lakhpati Didi initiative seeks to help women from self-help groups achieve sustainable annual household incomes of at least Rs 1 lakh. As of March 31, 2026, the programme covered 34 States and Union Territories, 757 districts and more than 10.14 crore SHG members.
Financial inclusion has expanded through Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, with 32.68 crore of the 58.90 crore Jan-Dhan accounts belonging to women as of July 1, 2026.
Under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, two-thirds of the loans sanctioned have gone to women entrepreneurs.
The NaMo Drone Didi scheme is also supporting women-led self-help groups by training them to operate drones for agricultural applications. Since its inception, 1,094 drones have been distributed to women SHGs.
On the government e-marketplace, more than 2.1 lakh women-led enterprises were registered, securing 13.7 lakh orders in 2025-26. Contracts worth more than Rs 28,000 crore were awarded to women MSMEs during the year.
Health, nutrition and dignity
Women have also been a major focus of broader health and nutrition programmes.
Under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY, 45.5 crore Ayushman cards had been created as of August 12, 2026, including 22.48 crore cards issued to women. More than 5.25 crore hospital admissions under the scheme involved women.
Under Saksham Anganwadi and POSHAN 2.0, more than 64.46 lakh pregnant women, 45.44 lakh lactating mothers and 15.68 lakh adolescent girls were among the beneficiaries as of July 31, 2026.
The government also launched a nationwide HPV vaccination campaign in February 2026 for eligible 14-year-old girls. As of July 15, more than 52.10 lakh girls had received the HPV vaccine.
Safety, housing and representation
Under Mission Shakti, the government has brought together initiatives focused on women’s safety and empowerment. More than 1.05 crore women had received support through the Women Helpline by July 31, 2026.
Housing schemes have also prioritised women. Under PMAY-Gramin, more than 96.06 lakh houses, or 24.73 per cent, had been allotted only to women as of August 13. Under PMAY-U 2.0, one crore of the 1.25 crore sanctioned houses had been allotted to women as of August 9.
Women’s participation in decision-making has also increased. As of March 2025, around 14.5 lakh women served as elected representatives in Panchayati Raj institutions, accounting for nearly 46 per cent of the total.
The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam provides for 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies and the Delhi Assembly, subject to the post-census delimitation exercise.
The government has also expanded women’s participation in the armed forces, with the first batch of 17 women cadets graduating from the National Defence Academy in 2025. By early 2026, 158 women cadets had joined the NDA since 2022.
The government said these initiatives are aimed at moving women beyond the role of beneficiaries and enabling them to become entrepreneurs, workers, farmers, professionals and leaders, making Nari Shakti an important foundation of the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
