Tripura govt spent 2,000cr in 7 years for women empowerment, says state minister

Agartala: Tripura govt has spent around Rs 2,000 crore on improving the socio-economic conditions and empowerment of women in the state in past seven years of BJP's rule, social welfare and social education minister Tinku Roy said on Wednesday. Both central and state govts undertook multiple schemes for the empowerment of women and to make them self-reliant, along with bringing over 33% of women into elected bodies from three-tier panchayats to the state assembly. As many as 58,000 self-help groups with more than 5 lakh women have been formed to drive them into economic activities, Roy said."Over 3,500 women representatives are serving in gram panchayats, panchayat samitis and zilla parishads in the state. In govt jobs, 33% of posts are reserved for women, and half of the stalls in govt markets are reserved for women. A women's Tripura State Rifles battalion has been formed in the state to symbolise the empowerment of women," Roy said. Tripura govt has been disbursing a monthly pension of Rs 2,000 to each of the 1,14,300 elderly women. Also, Tripura State Policy for Empowerment of Women-2022 for the welfare of women has been formulated, and women's helplines have been launched in every district. Scooters were awarded to the top-performing girls in the Class XII examination.