Era of women-led development has begun in India, says President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said that an era of women-led development has begun in India as girls are taking centre stage in all spheres of the nation building, and the trend is very encouraging for the country.

Addressing the 25th convocation of Berhampur University at Bhanja Bihar in Ganjam district of Odisha, she said the participation of women in literature, culture, dance and music has been remarkable.

The potential of our daughters is visible in every field from science and technology to police and army. Now, we are moving from the phase of women's development to women-led development, the president said.

Noting that around 45,000 students are getting education in Berhampur University's postgraduate departments and its affiliated colleges, she said more than 55 per cent of students are women.

Not only this, 60 per cent of the gold medal winners are also women and "half of the researchers, who received doctoral degrees today are also girls", the president said.

This is an excellent example of gender equality, Murmu said.

Noting that she came across many talented girls and women when attending different convocation programmes across the country, the President said that women who were confined to art, culture and other such spheres, now have started performing very high in the field of science and technology.

Even women are now leading in the police force and defence services, she pointed out.

As 49 per cent of the country's 140 crore population is women, their role in the economic, social and other sectors is now becoming prominent, the President said, expressing her happiness over the women's studies being a course at Berhampur University.

She said that there is no doubt that girls have the potential to outperform boys if given equal opportunities.

They have already made their marks in different national and international sports and the performance by the girls in the recently held Republic Day show was excellent she said, adding that women have now become fighter pilots.

She told the students that convocation is not just a celebration of receiving degrees, but also a celebration to recognise their hard work and success.

This opens doors to new dreams and possibilities, Murmu said.

She also said that getting a degree is not the end of education, and students should have a passion for learning throughout their lives.