Yogi Adityanath explains how rural women are driving UP's economy

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says rural women are shaping the state's economy through banking, self-help groups, entrepreneurship and agricultural technology.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said rural women were increasingly becoming contributors to the state's economy through banking services, self-help groups, agricultural technology and entrepreneurship. In a social media post marking the fourth day of Sharadiya Navratri, he described women as builders of village economies and key participants in the development of a new India.

He also referred to the Lakhpati Didi initiative, describing it as a marker of women's economic self-reliance. Self-help groups, he said, were creating opportunities for livelihoods and entrepreneurship, while farmer-producer organisations were widening the scope for agriculture-based employment.

The Chief Minister contrasted the current situation with the period before 2017, claiming that women then lacked opportunities and resources and that the government lacked the policy and intent to support them. These remarks were part of his social media message and were not accompanied by comparative data.

He said women were now becoming leaders in Uttar Pradesh's development journey, not only supporting their families' prosperity but also shaping the economic direction of villages. Adityanath added that the state could become truly prosperous and strong only when women in rural areas prospered.

The message was framed around Navratri and the worship of Goddess Kushmanda, whom the Chief Minister associated with creation, energy and prosperity. It placed rural women's participation in banking, entrepreneurship and agricultural technology at the centre of the government's stated vision for rural development.