State leading in empowering women through economic freedom: Sanghamitra Ghosh

Kolkata: The state government is greatly devoted to empowering women through the attainment of economic freedom, said Sanghamitra Ghosh, Principal Secretary of the state’s Women and Child Development and Social Welfare department.

Addressing a seminar organized by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC), ‘Women in Business: Entrepreneurial Imperatives’, Ghosh stated that the state government’s flagship programmes of Kanyashree and Lakshmir Bhandar aim at transferring money directly into the single bank accounts of women. She observed that social welfare is often quantifiably immeasurable. “A woman may not get a huge amount through these schemes but the task of opening a single savings bank account, visiting the branch every month to withdraw the money, and interaction with people act as an impetus to her self-confidence and that ensures a certain degree of empowerment,” she added.

She pointed out that so far two crore women are receiving benefits of the Lakshmir Bhandar Scheme and as many as six lakh girls are beneficiaries of the Kanyashree scheme. She further informed that

the state government has created a ‘Women’s Employment Platform’ headed by the Chief

Secretary and requested the

support of the chamber in expanding the scope of employment for women through this platform.

In her address, Melinda Pavek, US Consul General in Kolkata, highlighted that there are four major ways of ensuring women’s empowerment, namely, connectivity, prosperity, security, collaboration and democracy. In this regard, she informed that the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) launched by the USA in 2022 has partnered with India to provide employment opportunities for seven million people, especially women.

She further informed that the US National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality is supported by the Academy of Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) which has extended support to 25,000 women entrepreneurs in India, including 150 women in the North-eastern states and 120 in Bihar and Jharkhand.

Nilima Joshi, chairperson of the Bharat Chamber Ladies Forum, informed that India is now a hub for entrepreneurship where women are playing an important role. As per the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2020-2021 Report, the Total Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) in India is at 14.4 per cent. Out of this, the TEA for men is at 16.3 per cent while that for women is at 12.3 per cent, she added.

Sharing his observations, N G Khaitan, president of BCC observed that as we are a male-dominated society and men are primary owners of asset titles, women’s ability to use family assets to get finance is a

hindrance. Besides, low financial literacy and limited access

to mentorship and support opportunities are other challenges, he added.