Nitish’s big women push: Rs 2 lakh aid plan, Modi to transfer first installment

The number of women entrepreneurs is expected to cross two crore, with the state government already receiving 1.4 crore loan applications under the scheme.

The scheme, which comes just ahead of the assembly polls in the state, is seen as the Nitish Kumar-led National Democratic Alliance government’s response to RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav’s announcement of the Main Behan Maan Yojana. Announced last December, the proposed scheme is on the lines of Madhya Pradesh’s Ladli Behna and Maharashtra’s Ladki Bahana.

However, the Bihar government has opted to promote entrepreneurship among women instead of providing monthly allowances.

Nitish Kumar was earlier scheduled to launch DBT to 50 lakh women on September 22, but the programme was rescheduled. Modi will now join the Bihar CM in transferring the first installment to 75 lakh women.

Under the scheme, women entrepreneurs must apply through Jeevika self-help groups, of which there are over 10 lakh in Bihar. The scheme, popularly called ‘Dashazaria’, has seen large turnouts at cyber cafes across the state. As it does not stipulate repayment, it has become a major draw among women.

Social scientist Ashwani Kumar said: “While I am not talking about any particular scheme by the Centre or any state government, in a broader sense, we have entered a phase of what we may call maternal welfare state with focus on women empowerment. Women’s representation has a butterfly effect that eventually led to women-centric welfarism.”

Nitish Kumar’s earlier women-centric initiatives include 50 per cent quota for women in Panchayati Raj institutions, 35 percent reservation in government jobs, the bicycle scheme for Class 9 students, and enhanced honorarium for Jeevika, Anganwadi and ASHA workers.