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Women Empowerment
A complaint has been filed against a woman who berated Maharashtra minister Girish Mahajan for a traffic jam caused by a BJP rally in Mumbai, police said on Friday, clarifying that no case has been registered against her. The complaint was submitted to the police on Wednesday by Zen Sadavarte, daughter of advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, they said. The incident occurred in the upscale Worli area on Tuesday during a rally organised by the BJP to target opposition parties over the defeat of the Constitution Amendment Bill to fast-track the implementation of 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies. An agitated woman confronted minister Mahajan, who was speaking to reporters, shouting at him for blocking roads and causing inconvenience to commuters. "Get out of here. You are causing a traffic jam," she said, asking why the rally could not be held at the nearby open ground. In her complaint to the Worli police, Sadavarte said the woman created a ruckus, usin
Senior IAS officer Ashwini Bhide was on Tuesday appointed as the first woman commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), an official said. She took charge from Bhushan Gagrani, who retired on Tuesday, at a ceremony at the BMC headquarters in south Mumbai in the evening. The Mumbai civic body, set up in 1872, is one of the oldest local self-governing bodies in India. The BMC has a rich legacy and heritage of more than 150 years, Bhide told reporters after taking over as the new municipal commissioner. She said her effort will be to improve public transport safety for women commuters. Bhide said she will also ensure that the nullah cleaning work in the city is expedited before the onset of monsoon. Bhide, a 1995 batch IAS officer was the Additional Chief Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office and has handled many key infrastructure projects. An official notification said she will also continue holding charge as Managing Director of Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, who were denied Permanent Commission due to arbitrary assessment, are entitled to full pensionary benefits. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh held that the officers would be "deemed" to have completed the minimum qualifying service of 20 years required for a pension, even if they were released from service earlier. The judgment came on a batch of petitions, including those filed by Wing Commander Sucheta Edan and others, challenging the denial of Permanent Commission (PC) based on policy changes in 2019 and previous Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) rulings. Reading the operative parts of the judgment, the CJI said the Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs) for women officers were often graded "casually" under the assumption that they would not be eligible for career progression or PC. "The A
Agricultural research body ICAR on Sunday said it is developing a national gender platform connecting more than 900 institutions to strengthen women's role in farming, as an international conference adopted a declaration for a global alliance to boost their leadership across agri-food systems. Addressing the closing session of the Global Conference on Women in Agri-Food Systems (GCWAS-2026) on Saturday, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Director General ML Jat said the platform would link ICAR institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and agricultural universities to strengthen research, extension and capacity-building initiatives focused on women in agriculture. The three-day conference here, attended by delegates from 18 countries, concluded with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration, which calls for establishing a Global Alliance on Women in Agri-Food Systems, an official statement said. The declaration commits stakeholders to champion gender-responsive policies, ensure ...
President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday said women engaged in agriculture and agri-food sectors should get a greater role in policy formation, decision-making and leadership positions, and called for collective action to close gender gaps across the value chain. Addressing the three-day Global Conference on Women in Agri-Food Systems, the President said success case studies on women in agriculture should be published widely to ensure more people were aware of their contributions. Emphasising India's strategic choice of women-led development, Murmu said women in the agriculture sector must be given a greater role in policy formulation, decision-making, and leadership positions. "Larger participation of women at all levels in the sector will promote gender-inclusive agricultural growth," she said. She called for targeted support for women farmers on issues of land titles, access to technical knowledge, and institutional finance. On the role of technology, Murmu highlighted 'Sarlaben' -
Vedanta Group is targeting to increase women representation across all organisational levels to 35 per cent from 23 per cent at present. The company has also announced the launch of nationwide campaign #HerAtTheCore and a LinkedIn-led hiring drive inviting women to build careers across mining, metals, oil and gas, power and technology, a statement said. Quoting Annual Survey of Industries, Vedanta said women accounted for around 18 per cent of direct employment across industries in 2023-24, while in core sectors such as mining and metals, their share remained only 6 per cent. The campaign seeks to highlight the fact that India is entering a defining decade of industrial growth, powering the global energy transition, building EV supply chains, and strengthening its role in advanced manufacturing and technology, Vedanta said. Metals, minerals, oil & gas, and power are crucial for the growth of these industries. And yet, women represent only about 6 per cent of the workforce across ..
President Droupadi Murmu on Monday launched the Pink National Common Mobility Card and three other women-centric welfare schemes of the Delhi government. Addressing the gathering at the "Sashakt Nari, Samriddh Delhi" programme, Murmu said initiatives like free bus travel and integrated transport access would strengthen women's independence and safety. At the event held at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, the President also launched a scheme providing two free LPG cylinders annually to ration card-holding families on Holi and Diwali. The Rs 129-crore benefit will be transferred directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer, the statement said. She further launched the Delhi Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana and the "Meri Poonji, Mera Adhikar" initiative. Murmu said empowered women, with freedom to make decisions, can change the direction of society and the nation. Stressing collective responsibility, the President said women's empowerment is not just the governm
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Monday transferred Rs 10,000 each to the bank accounts of 25 lakh women under the 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana', which aims to promote women's empowerment through self-employment and livelihood opportunities. Kumar disbursed a total amount of Rs 2,500 crore through direct benefit transfer (DBT) at a function held here at his official residence, 1 Anne Marg, officials in the CMO said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched Bihar's 'Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana' in September, 2025. Around 1.81 crore women have so far received Rs 10,000 each, and those who have utilised the sum for setting up a business will soon get another Rs 2 lakh, the officials said. The chief minister had recently announced that the Bihar government initiated the process of providing additional financial assistance of up to Rs 2 lakh to select beneficiaries under the scheme.