Modi: Women to play big role in Viksit Bharat

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that women power has a huge role in building Viksit Bharat and in the last decade his government has placed their empowerment at the centre of every major scheme, including the Svamitva Yojana, which has strengthened women's property rights.
Speaking after distributing over 65 lakhs property cards under the Svamitva scheme to owners in over 50,000 villages in more than 230 districts across 10 states and two Union territories through video conferencing, Modi said, “Today our government is trying with full sincerity to implement ‘Gram Swaraj’ on the ground.”
Terming the occasion as a historic day for the villages and the rural areas of the country, the Prime Minister remarked that five years ago, the Svamitva scheme was launched to ensure that the people residing in the rural areas receive their property cards, as in different states refer to property ownership certificates by various names.
“Over 1.5-crore people have been issued Svamitva cards in the past five years,” Modi said, adding in today's program more than 65-lakh families had received these cards. He stated that under the scheme, around 2.25 crore people in villages have received legal documents for their homes now.
Elaborating on the scheme, the Prime Minister said that it involved mapping houses and lands in villages using drones and providing legal documents for residential properties to villagers. The benefits of this scheme are now visible, he said.
Referring to his earlier conversation with beneficiaries of the Swamitva scheme, who expressed how the scheme has transformed their lives, Modi stated that they now receive assistance from banks for their properties and their satisfaction and happiness are evident.
“India has over six-lakh villages, with drone surveys completed in nearly half of them,” Modi said. He highlighted that after receiving legal documents, lakhs of people had taken loans from banks based on their property, starting small businesses in their villages.
The Prime Minister noted that many of these beneficiaries are small and medium farmer families, for whom these property cards have become a significant guarantee of economic security.
Mentioning that Dalit, backward and tribal families were most affected by illegal occupations and long court disputes, Modi stated that with legal certification, they will now be free from this crisis.
The Prime Minister further mentioned an estimate that once property cards are issued in all villages, it will unlock economic activities worth over `100-lakh crores. He emphasised the substantial capital that will be added to the country's economy.
“Our government is earnestly working to implement Gram Swaraj on the ground,” exclaimed Modi, adding that the Swamitva scheme had significantly improved village development planning and execution. He stated that with clear maps and knowledge of populated areas, development work planning will be precise, eliminating wastage and obstacles caused by poor planning.
The Prime Minister said that property rights will resolve disputes over land ownership, such as identifying panchayat land and grazing areas, thereby empowering gram panchayats economically.
Modi emphasised that property cards will enhance disaster management in villages, making it easier to claim compensation during incidents like fires, floods and landslides.
Stressing that 2025 had begun with significant decisions for villages and farmers, the Prime Minister highlighted the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, under which farmers had received claims amounting to nearly `2.25-lakh crores and the government decision regarding DAP fertiliser, whose prices had risen globally.
Underscoring that the government has allocated thousands of crores to ensure affordable fertiliser for farmers, Modi said that over the past decade, approximately `12-lakh crores were spent on providing affordable fertiliser to farmers, nearly double the amount spent in the decade before 2014.
The Prime Minister further emphasised that under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, around `3.5-lakh crores have been transferred to farmers' accounts, demonstrating the Union government's commitment to farmers' welfare.
“Women's empowerment has been central to every major scheme over the past decade, recognising their significant role in building a developed India,” Mr Modi said and highlighted that initiatives like Bank Sakhi and Bima Sakhi had provided new opportunities for women in villages.
The Prime Minister said that the Lakhpati Didi Yojana had made over 1.25-crore women lakhpatis. “The Swamitva Yojana had strengthened women's property rights, with many states including wives' names on property cards alongside their husbands. Under the PM Awas Yojana, most houses provided to the poor were registered in women's names,” he said and emphasised the positive coincidence that Swamitva Yojana drones were helping women secure property rights.
He pointed out that the mapping work in the Swamitva Yojana was being done by drones, and under the Namo Drone Didi Yojana, village women were becoming drone pilots, assisting in agriculture and earning additional income.