Ahead of the International Women’s Day on March 8, the Ministry of Women and Child Development posted that through the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), ₹17,362 crore was disbursed to 3.81 crore women as of January 2025. These included cash incentives for pregnant and lactating mothers.
The 2025 International Women’s Day also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—an international treaty aimed at bringing much-needed social equity, strengthening women’s rights worldwide, and transforming the rights agenda to focus more on legal protection, access to services, youth engagement, and change in regressive social norms.
Apart from the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, India is a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR, 1966), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979), and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (2003), which focus on women’s rights and development
According to the union government, the latest government data points to more women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. In education, 42.57 per cent of total STEM enrolment have been women—around 42 lakh students.
More Indian women in business and trade
The Ministry of Women and Child Development also said that women benefitted increasingly from entrepreneurship schemes. Under the Stand-Up India Scheme, 84 per cent of loans under ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore were sanctioned to women entrepreneurs. Sixty-nine per cent of microloans under the MUDRA Scheme went to women-led enterprises.
The recent amendments to armed forces intake led to women entering the National Defense Academy (NDA), certain combat roles, and Sainik Schools—these were historically non-inclusive.
More than 15 per cent of civil aviation pilots are women. While this number looks small, it is much ahead of the international average of just 5 per cent.
Common Service Centres (CSCs) that service PAN, Aadhaar, and other customer requests have over 67,000 women entrepreneurs running them, as per government data.
India, and the world, have a long way to go to bridge the gap and bring equity to gender roles. However, as we approach International Women’s Day, the Centre is confident about the future. “Sustained efforts in policy-making, community engagement, and digital inclusion will ensure that women continue to drive India’s growth story in the years to come,” said the ministry in a statement.
