Need sustainable economic empowerment models for women: LS Speaker Om Birla

Tirupati, Sep 15 (IANS) Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday highlighted the need for sustainable economic empowerment models for women, even as a resolution laying the roadmap for advancing women’s empowerment was adopted at a national conference here.

The first national conference of Parliamentary and Legislative committees on women empowerment concluded with the adoption of the ‘Tirupati Resolution’.

Delivering his remarks at the valedictory session, the Lok Sabha Speaker stressed that women’s empowerment is not only a social imperative but also an economic necessity.

“By investing in women’s health, education, skills and entrepreneurship, India can unlock a vast reservoir of human capital and build a resilient socio-economic model of development,” he said.

Birla underlined that the leadership and contribution of women are pivotal to India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat by 2047.

The ‘Tirupati Resolution’ adopted at the conference emphasised applying a gender lens across all Ministries and Departments, enhancing allocations for health, education, skills, and entrepreneurship, institutionalising gender responsive budgeting, and strengthening technical capacity at national and state levels.

It is also committed to bridging the digital divide, promoting women’s participation in STEM fields, ensuring cyber safety, expanding digital literacy programmes, and making women active creators of technology.

Reaffirming the centrality of women-led development, the Resolution pledged to advance women’s education, health, safety, dignity, and self-reliance as the cornerstone of national progress and the realisation of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Earlier on the occasion of the International Day of Democracy, the Lok Sabha Speaker underlined that democracy in India is not merely a political arrangement but a civilizational value and a way of life.

He stated that India, known as the Mother of Democracy, has for centuries upheld the principles of equality, dialogue and participation, and that democracy is deeply woven into the cultural and social fabric of the country.

Birla emphasised that women’s empowerment must not be viewed only as a matter of welfare, but as the foundation of national development.

--IANS

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