“The progress of humanity is in- complete with- out the empowerment of women,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has af- firmed as an article of faith. It echoes the deepest cur- rents of India’s civilisational ethos, where Nari Shakti is revered as the essential cre- ative and protective force of the universe and society. The worship of the Devi in her many forms—Lakshmi, Saraswati, and Parvati— has symbolised for millen- nia that pursuit of prosper- ity, well-being, knowledge, or vitality is incomplete without self-realized wom- en. The Ardhanarishwar remains a potent symbol of equally shared, interdepen- dent power between Ish- war—the Purush princi- ple—and Nari—the Shakti principle.
And yet, somewhere along the way, India lost these unique values—not only of recognising women’s equal humanity and rights, but of their sanctity beyond pro- creation and motherhood. As India’s Pratham Sevak, PM Modi has been an Upa- sak of Nari Shakti. He has reawakened the agni—the fire of self-worth and con- fidence among the women and girls of India. Equally important, he has kindled a sense of pride and respon- sibility among our men and boys to stand up for gender equality and women’s em- powerment (GEWE) as ‘He- ForShe’ warriors.
Prime Minister Modi draws inspiration not only from our goddesses but also from real-life “she- roes” from all over India across the ages. He con- sistently weaves the lega- cies of India’s illustrious women into the fabric of his nation-building and civilisational affirmation.
From invoking the intel- lectual excellence of Gargi and Maitreyi, the valour of Rani Lakshmibai, and the benevolent statecraft of Ah- ilya Bai Holkar, to honour- ing the indomitable spirit of the Indian National Army’s Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, he frames their ideals as guid- ing lights for contemporary policy. He has celebrated Savitribai Phule’s social reforms, Rani Chennam- ma’s defiance, and Sarojini Naidu’s patriotism. The ef- fect is compelling—in his retelling of Indian history as ‘her-story’, PM Modi dismantles tokenism and enriches popular Indian history with the true spirit of women’s empowerment.
The Modi era has been a luminous chapter where talent and excellence have met opportunity. The Prime Minister has consistently fostered, recognised and celebrated women’s leader- ship in every field, as seen in his tributes to scientists behind the Chandray- aan missions, Muthayya Vanitha and Ritu Karidhal; courageous fighter pilots Avani Chaturvedi, Bha- wana Kanth, and Mohana Singh; tenacious Olympic champions P.V. Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, and Nikhat Zareen; healthcare trail- blazers Dr. Priya Abraham and Suchitra Ella; and busi- ness leaders Kiran Mazum- darShaw, Phalguni Nayar, and Leena Nair.
He has also heralded pioneers in traditionally male-dominated fields: Sadhana Saxena Nair, the first woman DGMS (Army); Commander Prerna Deost- halee, the first woman to command a naval warship; and Tessy Thomas, who led the Agni-IV missile project at DRDO. His gov- ernment’s policy extending Permanent Commission to women officers furthered their path to leadership in the armed forces. Girls are now admitted to Sainik Schools and the National Defence Academy whose first batch of women ca- dets graduated in 2025. India boasts the highest number and proportion of female pilots—thrice the global average. Under ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, as the Arjun MBT, Tejas LCA and ALH helicopters were inducted, women were at the controls. Every ges- ture from the PM—from ‘Operation Sindoor’ to his salutes on Raksha Band- han—reinforce the message that national strength and women’s power are indi- visible. He frames such ac- complishments as a beacon of national pride, inspiring generations of Indian wom- en to dream, lead, and excel across every walk of life.
His commitment stems from deep empathy shaped by the hardships he wit- nessed in his mother’s life and later among other women as a Pracharak. He has always held that women’s empowerment is not only just and right but also politically, economi- cally and socially smart and necessary. Thus, when he moved the compass from women-centred de- velopment to women-led development, he signalled that women are not only the prime beneficiaries of progress but leaders of transformation. His phi- losophy is simple yet pro- found: empowerment is both an intrinsic right and the decisive instrument for Viksit Bharat by 2047. On his 75th birthday, this may well be called Narendra Modi’s platinum contribu- tion to the global agenda of GEWE.
During my seven years building UN WOMEN, the first global organisation to promote GEWE, one clear insight emerged: when heads of government per- sonally champion gender equality, change follows. We worked with leaderssuch as Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, Shinzo Abe, Xi Jinping, Justin Trudeau, Emmanuel Macron, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan on various initiatives. Each played their salutary role. But it is one thing to en- dorse communiqués and quite another to make GEWE the organising principle of national and foreign policy. When the UN Secretary-General rec- ognised Narendra Modi as a ‘HeForShe’ champion in 2016, I had the privilege of offering him a commemora- tive shawl of that campaign. It was clear to me that In- dia’s Prime Minister stood above all these leaders with his unique conviction and civilisational purpose, one that is burnished by his prodigious actions to trans- form women’s lives.
He distinguishes himself by leading across all Pan- chatattvas of women’s em- powerment, aligned with global objectives such as the SDGs, particularly SDG 5. The first of these is advocacy and movement- building to shift mindsets towards a new normal. As the Pradhan Pracharak on GEWE, he has driven a veritable Jan Andolan, seen in campaigns like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and now ‘Beti Kamao’, which UNICEF recognised for reducing boy preference and girl aversion, and cor- recting the skewed sex ratio in India.
The second is “making women and girls count” through gender-disag- gregated data, knowledge and analysis—such as the ‘Poshan’ Tracker or real-time dashboards for inclusion under the ‘PM Jan-Dhan Yojana’. Third is the laws, standards and policies that strike at patri- archal practices and safe- guard rights. Fourth is the programmes and institu- tions that deliver benefits directly to women. It is remarkable that his gov- ernment’s transversal pro- grammes prioritise women beneficiaries even as dedi-cated programmes target them as well. And finally, a whole-of-government, whole-of-society, India-to- Global South-to-G20-to- world mission approach. The sheer scale and scope of transformation attempted and achieved is exemplary, lending itself to replicability abroad.
The Modi government has addressed the first foundation of empow- erment through “dig- nity infrastructure”. The ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ transformed sanitation, building over 120 million toilets to ensure women’s safety and hygiene. The ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’ brought piped water to 156 million households, freeing wom- en from hours of drudg- ery. The ‘Ujjwala Yojana’ delivered over 100 million LPG connections, rescu- ing women from smoky kitchens. Through the ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana–Gramin’, nearly three-quarters of 275 mil- lion homes were registered in women’s names, shifting household power dynamics and giving women secure assets. Menstrual dignity has been advanced through expanded sanitary pad ac- cess and awareness pro- grammes, acknowledging a long-ignored dimension of health.
A lifecycle approach un- derpins health and nutri- tion schemes such as the ‘Janani Suraksha Yojana’, ‘Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram’, ‘Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan’ and the ‘Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana’, reaching millions of mothers. Mis- sion ‘Poshan 2.0’, with an investment of more than US$ 20 billion inte- grates nutrition and early education. By upgrading 200,000 centres into Saksham Anganwadis, the government is providing holistic care while cam- paigns like ‘Suposhit Gram Panchayat’ reward commu- nity leadership.
Empowerment is incom- plete without agency. The Modi era has seen women’s agency multiplied through identity rails like Aadhaar; financial inclusion through Jan Dhan Yojana (61% of In- dian women are banked); credit ladders such as MUDRA (68% of loans to women); while Stand-Up India, and PMEGP and the Women Entrepreneurship Platform of NITI Aayog have created millions of entrepreneurs. 100 mil- lion women have been mobilised into over 9 mil- lion Self-Help Groups un- der DAY-NRLM, with the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ initiative enabling over 14 million women to earn at least Rs 1 lakh annually.
Women’s safety has ad- vanced under Mission Shakti’s dual pillars of Sam- bal (protection) and Samar- thya (empowerment). Over 819 ‘One Stop Centres’ as- sist more than 1 million women facing violence. Helplines integrated with the ERSS 112 system and digital tools like the ‘SHe- Box’ portal have made re- dress accessible. Communi- ty innovations such as Nari Adalats offer women-led dispute resolution mecha- nisms. Legal reforms have been historic: the criminal- isation of instant triple ta- laq restored dignity to Mus- lim women; the proposal to raise the marriageable age to 21 for women aligns op- portunity with justice; and doubling maternity leave to 26 weeks makes India one of the most progressive na- tions for working mothers. T h e ‘ M a h i l a K i s a n Sashaktikaran Pariyo- jana’ and ‘Rashtriya Ma- hila Kisan Yojana’ sup- port women farmers with training and resources. MSME schemes such as the ‘Mahila Coir Yojana’ and ‘Udyogini’ encourage entrepreneurs. In trade and crafts, TRIFED and textile missions give women arti- sans global platforms. In science, programmes like SERB-POWER and the WISE initiative nurture women in STEM—help- ing India lead the world in women graduates in STEM.
The pinnacle of this plati- num arc is the passage of the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’ Bill, which reserves 33% of seats in Parliament and State As- semblies for women. This constitutional amendment ensures women not only in- fluence but also decide law and policy at apex levels. It embodies what CEDAW called a Temporary Special Measure to accelerate de facto equality and gender parity. This represents a leap of concept in India— transforming beneficiaries into lawmakers. With SC/ ST sub-quotas, it also oper- ationalises intersectionality, ensuring that marginalised women are not left behind. PM Modi showed courage in securing this measure, and it will mark his legacy forever.
India’s G20 presidency in 2023 made Women-Led Development a priority global theme for the first time, with the Delhi Decla- ration affirming “women’s full, effective, meaningful and equal participation as decision-makers in all spheres.” Six concrete out- comes spanned economic empowerment, digital in- clusion, leadership, STEM participation, and the care economy. An institutional mechanism was created to ensure follow up and monitoring as well as main- streaming into thematic work streams. By inter- nationalising its domestic success, India offered the Global South a role model— fusing civilisational values with digital rails and last- mile delivery.
Why does this matter? Be- cause women are not a spe- cial interest group; they are half of Sabka Saath. For In- dia, it is the hinge between potential and destiny. Eco- nomic justice, social justice, and demographic dividend all depend on unlocking this power. As I have often argued, there is no sustain- able development without gender equality. One-sixth of the world’s women areIndian. Their empower- ment changes SDG out- comes. In Modi’s India, this principle has been translated into practice with courage to confront toxic patriarchy, demolish structural barriers, and in- voke the best traditions of our civilisation. To see India champion it at the highest level is historic and game- changing for this most im- portant project for human- ity in the 21st century.
Having served at UN Women, I know how much of an unfinished business GEWE still is, how politi- cally charged and cultur- ally contested the agenda is, how Sisyphean the task can be, and how vulnerable to slowdown and regression— even in Western countries considered feminist bas- tions—it is to this day and age. That is why PM Modi’s platinum contribution must be understood not only in terms of the scale of reforms, but in the com- mitment it entrusts on us as stakeholders to safe- guard them. We, especially our youth, must make this a global public good that draws sustenance from and replenishes India’s endur- ing soft power as a nation that embodies the values of GEWE in every fibre of its being.
That will be the true measure of success of PM Modi’s Bhagirath-like un- dertaking. The operative question is can India embed women-led development so deeply in its civilisational values, constitutional order, and collective conscious- ness and imagination going forward that it becomes an irreversible cornerstone of national progress? I believe we can. For if the 21st centu- ry is to be India’s century, it will be because Nari Shakti will have truly become Bharat Shakti.
Lakshmi Puri is a former Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women; and a former Am- bassador of India.
