Ability to run the house.....

....The scene of women power is changing rapidly

India: Better employment hopes for 16 lakh women in Tamil Nadu

16 lakh women are expected to benefit under the World Bank Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) programme.

Country and World: 3 July 2025: (Media Link32//Source courtesy of United Nations)::

Under the World Bank Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program, 16 lakh women are expected to get benefits.

Whether it is home or country or world, it is women who make it beautiful and worth living. It is their understanding and courage that makes a successful life. Women have silently written the history of success. The United Nations often brings their true stories to the fore. One more story has come to light. This story is from Tamil Nadu. There, better and new hopes of employment have emerged for 16 lakh women, which will brighten the future of countless families.

Though the situation is changing all over the world. Men used to dominate the household. Because of this, it was natural for ego to come in their minds. Due to this, it was understood that women do not have the capability to run a household that men have. But this situation is changing rapidly in the last few decades. Women have proved that they are no less than anyone else. As far as India is concerned, this change is being seen rapidly in our country as well. The central and state governments are also active in this direction. 16 lakh women are expected to benefit under the Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program.

With the active support of the World Bank, 16 lakh women are now fully expected to get direct benefits under the Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program. It seems as if success is standing at their doorstep.

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, about 16 lakh women now have strong hopes of getting quality employment. This seems possible thanks to an initiative of the World Bank. The Washington-based Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank has approved a new program aimed at increasing women's labor participation in Tamil Nadu.

The name of this initiative is Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Safety (WESAFE) which is very popular now.

In Tamil Nadu, which is rapidly moving towards urbanization, new opportunities are also emerging in sectors like electronics and automobile.

Tamil Nadu has the highest rate of female labor participation in the country and the state has been a pioneer in setting standards for the safety of working women.

Still, the female participation rate remains 32 percentage points lower than that of men. Also, most women are employed in the agricultural sector or in low-paid informal work.

The Tamil Nadu government has set a target of becoming a trillion dollar economy by the year 2030. To achieve this, it is very important to increase the female labor participation.

Keeping this in mind, under the WESAFE program, 6 lakh women will be provided skill training and career support, and 18 thousand women entrepreneurs will be provided incubation support to start a business.

Women Empowerment

The World Bank has previously supported the Tamil Nadu government in setting up several safe hostels.

This new initiative will expand these facilities to include crèches, elderly care, safe transportation options, and support centers to facilitate reporting of harassment and abuse against women.

"Through skills development, financial access, and access to support services such as crèches, safe hostels, and transportation, the program will empower women to participate in the workforce and contribute to Tamil Nadu's goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy," said August Tano Kueme, World Bank India Country Manager.

The program will strengthen Tamil Nadu's capacity, technical partnerships, and institutional structures.

Muderis Abdulahi Mohammed and Pradyumna Bhattacharya, who are leading the programme, said, “The programme will also encourage partnerships with industry associations, leading institutions and private organisations to improve the quality and availability of housing and transport for women employees, students and women entrepreneurs.”

In addition, a state-level platform with private equity participation will help women gain access to financial products such as credit guarantee funds and micro-grants and raise awareness among them.

The $150 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the programme has a tenure of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period.

India has been recognized as an emerging AI power

 UN Women Post on 6th May 2025:HDI 2025:

India is strong in the field of human development, but challenges also remain

UNDP India Women in India are being encouraged to play a leading role on sustainable development issues, especially those related to gender equality. (File photo)

6th May 2025 // Economic development

Despite the challenges, development continues in India. The picture given at the beginning of this post shows that there is happiness of economic achievements on the faces of these working women. There is also a glow of struggles. There is also a smile of standing on their own feet. It is a great thing that India has been recognized as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of pride for all of us Indians. India is the only lower-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. Unfortunately, such positive achievements are not generally discussed in the media as much as they should be. Now all this information has been given in the information received from the United Nations.

A glimpse of the Human Development Report is also in this graph

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report for the year 2025 indicates a decline in the global pace of human development this year. This decline is particularly evident in South Asia, but India has emerged as an exception in this region - where continuous progress has been seen in human development indicators. India has not only recorded significant improvements in the areas of health, education and income, but has also paved the way for inclusive and sustainable development through artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the Human Development Report titled “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI”, India's Human Development Index (HDI) has increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023.

With this, India has moved up from 133rd place to 130th place out of 193 countries in a year.

At the same time, India is moving closer to the threshold of high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700) while maintaining its place in the medium human development category.

India's HDI value has increased by 53% since 1990 - faster than the global and South Asian averages.

According to UNDP India representative Angela Lusigi, this progress reflects lasting improvements in average years of education, life expectancy, and national income per capita.

Role of AI

India has been identified as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of great pride in our times. Progress in this field is also a guarantee of success and prosperity in the times to come.

India is the only low-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. When the history of the coming future will be written, it will be remembered with great pride. This is a milestone in a way.

According to this report, the infrastructure related to AI in India is strong, and there is continuous investment in the field of skill development. The strengthening of AI related infrastructure in India shows a glimpse of a golden future. This is a clear indication that the pace of India's development is going to be faster now.

In this connection, another figure has come to the fore that while the number of AI researchers was almost negligible in the year 2019, now 20% of Indian people, AI researchers are working in the country itself. There is every possibility of their number increasing soon.

If we go into a little detail, AI is being used in various sectors in India - such as agriculture, healthcare and public distribution system. For example:

*AI is being used to provide insurance and loan related advice to farmers in their regional languages.

*A plan is being made to set up a national AI facility for researchers and new companies and industries.

*AI based inclusive skill development programs supported by UNDP are being run in states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Continuous improvement in health, education and income

Life expectancy in India was 58.6 years in 1990, which has now increased to 72 years in 2023 - the highest level since the inception of the HDI index.

There has also been improvement in the field of education. Now the average period of children staying in school in India has reached 13 years, whereas in 1990 it was only 8.2 years.

Steps like the Right to Education Act, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the new National Education Policy 2020 have played a significant role in this. However, there is still a need for improvement in the quality and outcomes of education.

On the economic front, India's per capita gross national income is projected to increase from $2167.22 in 1990 to $9046.76 in 2023 - an increase of more than four times.

This growth is attributed to broad economic reforms as well as social schemes such as MNREGA, Jan Dhan Yojana and digital inclusion.

This development has also had an impact on the lives of poor people. In particular, between 2015-16 and 2019-21, 135 million people have come out of multidimensional poverty, which is considered a major achievement.

The challenge of inequalities

However, according to the report, India has lost 30.7% in HDI due to indicators related to inequalities -one of the largest losses in the region.

While there has been some improvement in inequality in health and education, income and gender inequality remain widespread.

Women's participation and political representation, especially in the labour force, are still low. However, recent measures such as the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women offer hope for social and political change.

Global perspective and situation in South Asia

The report expresses concern about the slow pace of global human development. It is at the slowest pace since 1990.

If progress had been maintained before 2020, the world would have been on track to achieve high human development by 2030. But this goal is now at risk of being delayed by several decades.

The report also shows that inequalities between rich and poor countries are becoming increasingly deep.