India Celebrates 78th Independence Day: PM Modi urges Women's Safety

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 15 August 2024

India celebrates its 78th Independence Day today highlighting its transformation from agrarian to industrial powerhouse, with initiatives like Make in India and Digital India accelerating industrialization. It also highlights the challenges of women to overcome the barriers to achieve true equality. Initiatives like 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao', 'Drone Didi', 'Kanya Suraksha Yojana', and other yojanas have helped women to progress and created a safer environment to succeed in their lives. Independence Day is not only a celebration of a nation's freedom but also a reflection of the ongoing struggle for rights and liberties for all its citizens, including women.

On the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the National Flag in the Red Fort and emphasized the need for swift investigation and severe penalties for crimes against women, emphasizing the importance of making the consequences of such crimes highly visible. He expressed deep concern over the rise in heinous crimes against women that needs to be highlighted and restore confidence in societal justice. India's PM noted that, "as a society, we'll have to think seriously about atrocities against our mothers, sisters, and daughters. There's outrage against this... I can feel it... Crimes against women must be speedily probed and those who commit monstrous deeds should be promptly punished."

PM Modi further praised the significant progress in women's empowerment stating that 10 crore women have joined self-help groups (SHGs) and become key decision-makers. The government will allocate Rs 10-20 lakh crore to support these groups, with Rs 9 lakh crore already provided. The financial support aims to enhance the impact of social change and economic self-reliance groups, similar to the global success of Indian CEOs. He added, "In the next five years, 75,000 new seats will be created in medical colleges in India", noting "Viksit Bharat 2047 should also be Swasth Bharat."