YS Jagan Birthday Special: AP CM Champion For Women's Empowerment, Welfare, And Safety

YS Jagan 2022 Birthday Special: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in March this year had announced that the  YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government has spent a whopping Rs1.18 lakh crore on 4.69 crore, women, beneficiaries during the party’s three-year tenure at the office. Speaking during the International Women's Day celebrations organised by the Department of Women's Development and Child Welfare he said that the state was ahead of other States in the country in implementing several revolutionary schemes and programmes that are aimed at empowering women.

Under his tenure, the AP Government has given utmost priority to women's empowerment, welfare, and safety through several schemes like Amma Vodi, which provides aid to women to send their children to school from class 1 to 12 and total fee reimbursement, Vasathi Deevena and Sampoorna Poshana and Sampoorna Poshana Plus for pregnant women and YSR Cheyutha and YSR Aasara for the vendors to set up shops has come as a blessing for marginalized women.

In addition to this, women of DWCRA and Self Help Groups (SHGs) are being provided financial support under the YSR Zero Interest Loan Scheme. 

Apart from welfare, YS Jagan who was moved by the Hyderabad case immediately took up the task of launching the Disha Act in the victim’s name to keep a check on crimes against women and ensure women’s protection in the State. It was not just a statement made but converted into action after the state government set up Disha police stations specifically for women's safety and also the Disha mobile phone app which connects the woman in distress to the nearby police station. More than 1.16 crore women have downloaded Disha App and all the Disha patrol vehicles are connected to the control room through GPS, where the staff will respond in 4-5 minutes in towns and 8-10 minutes in villages, in case of an emergency.

Apart from that, a fleet of 163 Disha patrol vehicles and 18 caravans were made available to adhere to and improve the response time for protecting women and children in emergency situations.

He is known to respond to cases of rape and instruct police machinery to take apprehend the accused on a priority basis and mete out justice to victims. This apart he is known to send his ministers to personally hand over the compensation amounts to the victims or their families.

The Chief Minister is also known to have a sensitive side when it comes to women and the girl child welfare. There have been numerous instances where he stopped his convoy to address the issue of parents in want of financial assistance for their sick children.

When it comes to women empowerment and female representation in high offices, he is one of the few Chief Ministers to have been assigned important portfolios in the AP Cabinet, to women. That included the Home MinisterTaneti Vanita, R.K. Roja, Vidadala Rajani, and K.V. Usha Sri Charan who are the four female ministers in the new Cabinet 2022.

This apart, from the pension scheme, welfare schemes, and the Direct Benefit Transfer concept which leaves no scope for corruption, has ensured his place in the heart of women in the State whom they bless and consider YS Jagan to be a son, as Jagananna, Jagan mama…

(This special story is a part of a series on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's birthday)

Also Read: AP: Blood Donation Camps, Sapling Drives, Among Events To Mark CM YS Jagan's Birthday