President of India Confers Nari Shakti Puraskar for 2019



  • 15 Women Honoured for their Outstanding Contribution to Society Posted On: 08 MAR 2020 12:02PM by PIB Delhi


  • The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented Nari Shakti Puraskarfor the year 2019 at a special ceremony held in RashtrapatiBhavan, New Delhi on the occasion of International Women’s Day today.


  • The awards were conferred on15 eminent women in recognition of their efforts in rendering distinguished services towards emancipation of women, especially vulnerable and marginalized women.Nari Shakti Puraskarawardee from Kollam, Alappuzha, Kerala, BhageerathiAmma,could not travel to Delhi to receive the award.


  • Nari Shakti Puraskar is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development to acknowledge the exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions, to celebrate women as game changers and catalyst of positive change in the society. These outstanding women have contributed towards safeguarding women’s rightsalong with pushing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. These awards are an effort to recognize women as equal partners in the advancement of society.


  • These achievers have not allowed age, geographical barriers or access to resources to come in the way of fulfilling their dreams. Their indomitable spirit will inspire the society at large and the young Indian minds in particular to break gender stereotypes, and stand up against gender inequality and discrimination.


Shri Narendra Singh Tomar interacts with rural women of Self Help Groups on DD Kisan Live TV programme to mark International Women's Day More than 14 lakh SHGs to be added to take their total to 75 lakhs by 2022: Shri Tomar Posted On: 08 MAR 2020 5:52PM by PIB Delhi



  • The Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said India cannot emerge as a developed economy in the comity of nations without participation of women.


  • Addressing a live TV programme on DD Kisan on Women's Empowerment to mark the International Women's Day here today, he said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s mission of a New India can become a reality only with the active participation of women, who constitute half of the population, in the economy.


  • Women are now not only toppers in academic Board and competitive exams, but handling key positions in various sectors ranging from industry, scientific and technical research, space research & nuclear programmes, police and armed forces and bureaucracy, he added.


  • Shri Tomar said the Women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) are backbone of poverty alleviation programmes and the entire focus of Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers’ Welfare and Departments of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj is oriented towards women’s emancipation. “Since communities can be more influential than individuals, the role of SHGs as change makers is critical in the development process sweeping across the rural landscape,” he said.


  • Shri Tomar said there are 60.8 lakh SHGs across the country mobilizing more than six crore 73 lakh women. “The Rural Development Ministry plans to create a total of 75 lakh SHGs by 2022 to enable more women to get livelihood,” he said.


  • Shri Tomar said the Government is providing funds and training to SHGs for livelihood missions, linking them with banks for easy credit flow and the Rural Development Ministry has instituted awards for SHGs encouraging them to perform better. More than Rs.2.75 lakh crores credit has been provided to SHGs during last six years to make women self-dependent. More than five crore people are annually employed Department of Science and Technology celebrates International Women’s Day


Dr Harsh Vardhan launches women helpline for S&T schemes Helpline will provide handholding to women scientists Justice Pratibha M Singh lauds the Women Scientist Scheme C (KIRAN IPR)



  • The movie “Hidden Figure” screened at celebrations. The book LADY YOU’RE THE BOSS! By Apurva Purohit presented to participants Posted On: 08 MAR 2020 6:28PM by PIB Delhi


  • As part of the International Women’s Day celebrations organised by Department of Science and Technology (DST), Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Science and Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan today launched a new Helpline no 011-26565285 here for use of women students, researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists to get their queries answered and doubts cleared related to programs of Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).


  • At present this Helpline will provide handholding to women scientists and will be available during office hours (09:30am to 05:30 pm) during working days.


  • Dr Harsh Vardhan gavedetails of the helpline about how the women’s schemes of the MoST can help women to continue their careers in Science and Technology and also about the qualifications or other requirements for the schemes.


  • At another function in New Delhi, DST with its autonomous organization Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC), celebrated International Women’s Day at TIFAC, where Justice Pratibha M Singh lauded the Women Scientist Scheme C (KIRAN IPR) which is creating impact on IPR eco system in India. She emphasized the need to enhance women’s role in practising science and the need to increase employment related to science technology and engineering.


  • Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary DST, in his address at TIFAC, spoke about the newly launched Vigyan Jyoti scheme to encourage the women to pursue science. He said that a drive to identify potential candidates at district level would take place. “Selected women from more than 500 districts, would be given opportunities to attend science camps at IITs, NITs and other leading institutions of science and technology education where women are not adequately represented” he said.


  • He also emphasised the role of IP in innovation eco system and congratulated the women scientists who have completed one-year training on IPR under KIRAN programme.under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and women constitute 55% of the workforce under the MGNREGA. Even under the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) with 4.66 lakh women involved, the participation of women is more under the scheme, he said.


  • Shri Tomar said the Swarna Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) was restructured and subsumed into the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana (DAY) - National Rural Livelihood Mission (Ajeevika) (NRLM). Under the Mission, the Government aims to reach out to about 10 crore rural poor households. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has given dignity to women and enhanced their safety with the construction of 9.5 crore toilets across the country.


  • Shri Tomarsaid Government is not only supporting women and rural population but also providing them with platforms like the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) for fetching better prices for their products. “The Government has made it mandatory for its offices to first source their requirements from GeM and purchase from other sources only if unavailable here,” he said.