PM Modi reviews progress of schemes to empower women announced in I-Day address

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday chaired a high-level review meeting to discuss the progress made on schemes for the empowerment of women and on setting up stores to sell generic medicines that he announced in his Independence Day speech.

In his address, the prime minister had spoken about making two crore 'Lakhpati didis' -- making two crore women engaged in self-help groups or anganwadis 'Lakhpatis'. Modi also took stock of the various livelihood interventions planned to achieve this target. In his Independence Day speech, Modi had spoken about equipping 15,000 women self-help groups with drones for agriculture and related purposes.

The prime minister was given an overview of the plans to implement this, ranging from training of women SHGs to monitoring of activity, an official statement said. Modi had also spoken about taking the number of Jan Aushadhi Stores in India to 25,000 from the present 10,000 to increase the reach of affordable medicines. The prime minister reviewed the implementation strategy for this expansion, the statement said