Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma on Friday, 12 June 2026, credited the 12 years of the Narendra Modi-led Union government with transforming women's empowerment from a policy goal into what he called a broad-based national movement. Sharma cited four flagship central schemes as evidence of structural change in the lives of crores of women across India.

Context

Posting under the hashtag #12YearsOfNariShakti, Sharma wrote that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, welfare initiatives had delivered 'respect, security, convenience and self-reliance' to women. He described the outcome as 'karodon mataon-bahnon ke jeevan mein sakaratmak parivartan' — a positive transformation in the lives of crores of mothers and sisters. The post was accompanied by a video and was framed as a tribute to the Union government's record on gender-focused welfare since 2014.

The Rajasthan CM's message aligns with a wider BJP communication push marking the 12th anniversary of the Modi government, with state-level leaders amplifying the national narrative around women-centric programmes.

Policy Backdrop

Sharma specifically named four Union government schemes. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, launched in August 2014, extended banking access to previously unbanked households, with women account holders forming a significant share of new enrollees. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched in May 2016, provided LPG connections to below-poverty-line families, with connections issued in the names of adult women members.

Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, launched in 2015–2016 for urban and rural segments respectively, aimed to deliver pucca housing with women listed as co-owners or sole owners — a provision intended to build asset ownership among women. The Jal Jeevan Mission's Har Ghar Jal component, announced in 2019, sought to provide functional household tap connections to every rural home, reducing the burden of water collection that disproportionately falls on women and girls.

Together, these four programmes represent a pattern of direct-benefit and asset-creation schemes explicitly targeting women as primary beneficiaries — a design principle that has been central to Union government welfare architecture since 2014.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the schemes cited by Sharma are women from rural households, below-poverty-line families, and communities with historically low financial inclusion. Each scheme was structured to place assets — bank accounts, cooking fuel connections, house ownership titles, and piped water access — directly in women's names, which policy advocates argue strengthens intra-household bargaining power.

For Rajasthan, a state with large rural and tribal populations and historically low female labour force participation, the implementation of these schemes carries particular significance. State governments are responsible for on-ground delivery of several centrally-sponsored components, making the CM's endorsement also a signal of administrative priority at the state level.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to Rajasthan's state budget allocations and progress reports for these four schemes in the coming fiscal cycle, as well as any fresh central guidelines on women-centric modifications to existing programmes. Sharma's post signals that Nari Shakti messaging will remain a prominent theme for the ruling party heading into the next phase of governance, with state leaders expected to continue amplifying the Union government's welfare record.