Centre giving top priority to women empowerment: Kishan

Hyderabad: Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy has said that the Centre, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gives top priority to empowerment of women.

He attended, as chief guest, and distributed certificates of completion of vocational skills to candidates under the aegis of Atal Behari Vajpayee Foundation (ABV Foundation) here on Sunday.

Reddy said the training programmes were being rolled out in a phased manner since 2005 for empowering women. After he became Secundrabad MP efforts were made to start skill development centres across several places in the constituency.

He said the ABV Foundation has been imparting skill training to women with the cooperation of several social and NGOs. However, there is a need to improve the skills to empower them by introducing new training programmes.

Reddy said the Centre, under PM Narendra Modi, has been giving top priority to women's empowerment. Under the PM Awas Yojana housing units were registered in women's names. "However, it is not being implemented in Telangana, in the name of the double bedroom housing scheme. The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was given 30 lakh houses, and 20 lakh housing units are being executed".

"Electrification of every household, LPG, construction of toilets and the Ayuhman Bharat scheme, providing Rs 5 lakh annual insurance coverage, were rolled out for the welfare of people, poor and women", he added.

Citing Hyderabad standing on top in the country in utilising the Swanidhi Yojana meant to support petty and street vendors for economic empowerment and create livelihoods, he asked women to make use of the Mudhra Yojana to start their own enterprises.

He recalled how during the tenure of former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee the self-help groups of women from the below poverty line had been empowered. However, the Telangana government has failed to give its share of the Pavla Vaddi for the past eight years to SHGs, he rued.

Reddy said the Centre was giving priority for the recruitment of women in the Army and paramilitary forces. "It is prepared to provide 33 per cent reservation for women in the armed forces recruitment."

Earlier, former MP Vijayashanthi stressed on women becoming entrepreneurs not only stand on their own feet, but also create livelihoods for other women. She called upon other leaders to run skill development and training centres in their respective constituencies for empowerment of women in Telangana.