Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said women in the state were increasingly contributing to the rural economy through banking services, self-help groups, agricultural technology and small enterprises. In a post on X marking the fourth day of Sharadiya Navratri, he described women as not just beneficiaries of development schemes but contributors to village economies and the state’s growth.
Adityanath offered prayers to Goddess Kushmanda and described her as a traditional symbol of creation, energy and prosperity. He said communities that provide women with strength and opportunities can turn deprivation into hard work, hard work into self-reliance and self-reliance into prosperity.
The Chief Minister said the state government, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was connecting rural women with opportunities for economic independence. He cited banking correspondents known as BC Sakhis, who provide banking services in villages, and the Lakhpati Didi initiative, which he said had become a symbol of women’s economic self-reliance.
He also referred to Drone Didis, who are taking modern technology into agriculture, and said self-help groups and farmer-producer organisations were expanding opportunities for livelihoods, entrepreneurship and agriculture-based employment for rural women.
Adityanath contrasted the current situation with the period before 2017, claiming that women then lacked opportunities and resources and that the government lacked the policy and intent to support them. The claim was made in his social media post and was not accompanied by data comparing outcomes across the two periods.
{{/usCountry}}Adityanath contrasted the current situation with the period before 2017, claiming that women then lacked opportunities and resources and that the government lacked the policy and intent to support them. The claim was made in his social media post and was not accompanied by data comparing outcomes across the two periods.
{{/usCountry}}He said women were now becoming drivers of village economies and leaders in Uttar Pradesh’s development. Their role, he said, extended beyond supporting household prosperity to shaping economic activity and local livelihoods.
The message linked the worship of Goddess Kushmanda during Navratri with the government’s stated focus on women’s empowerment and rural development. Adityanath said the prosperity and strength of Uttar Pradesh depended on the economic progress of women in its villages.