Women’s Empowerment Gets a Boost with Mahtari Vandana

Vishnu Dev government committed to women’s empowerment

Raipur, December 5

The lives of beneficiary women have undergone a significant transformation due to the Mahtari Vandana scheme, implemented by the Vishnu Dev government with the aim of promoting the health, nutrition, economic self-reliance, and empowerment of women in Chhattisgarh. With the assistance from this scheme, women are not only meeting their daily needs but also expanding their income-generating activities.
Ever since Smt. Bindya Prajapati started receiving Rs. 1,000 every month under the Mahtari Vandana scheme, the joy on her face is evident. Smt. Prajapati, a resident of Dharhar village in Marwahi development block, is using the Mahtari Vandana amount to expand her brick-making business. Previously, economically weak Bindya Bai had to borrow money for mud, husk, and firewood for brick-making, but now she doesn’t have to seek help from others.
Smt. Mamta, a resident of Baldakachhar, a forest village in Baloda Bazar district, traditionally makes bamboo handicrafts for a living. Earlier, due to financial constraints, she couldn’t buy bamboo to make handicrafts, but now she receives Rs. 1,000 per month from the Mahtari Vandana scheme, which she uses to buy bamboo. She is able to make a large number of decorative items like jhenjri, supa, parra, and tukni, which she sells to earn a good income, and she is using her savings to educate her daughters.
The Mahtari Vandana scheme has brought about a change in the life of Smt. Sunita Sahu, a resident of Jamdi village in Korea district. Smt. Sahu, a mother of three, has started investing the amount received from the scheme in her children’s higher education.
Smt. Chandramati, a beneficiary residing at the Bakawand block headquarters in Bastar district, and her family do not have agricultural land. Both husband and wife work as laborers to somehow support their family of six. The state government’s Mahtari Vandana scheme has now become a support for their family. Chandramati receives Rs. 1,000, and her mother-in-law Rukni receives Rs. 500 under the Mahtari Vandana scheme and Rs. 500 under the old-age pension scheme, which, although not much, is proving to be very useful for this poor family.
Similarly, many women are becoming economically empowered thanks to the ambitious Mahtari Vandana scheme of Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai’s government. This step of the government is bringing about a big change in their lives.
It is noteworthy that the scheme was launched on March 10, 2024, by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Approximately 70 lakh beneficiary women in the state are being provided financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 every month. From March to December, beneficiary women have been provided financial assistance of Rs. 6530.41 crore in 10 monthly installments.