Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Friday, 12 June 2026, marked 12 years of the Narendra Modi government by crediting its welfare schemes with transforming the lives of women across India, calling the empowered woman of today the country's greatest strength on the path to a developed nation.

Context

Posting under the hashtag #12YearsOfNariShakti, Chouhan wrote in Hindi that under Prime Minister Modi's leadership, 'samridhi ka naya ujala' (a new light of prosperity) has entered women's lives, and that 'nari shakti ke sankalpom ko nayi udaan mili hai' (the resolve of women's power has found a new flight). He described the past 12 years as chapters written in convenience, security, and self-respect for sisters and daughters across the country.

The post arrives as the BJP marks the completion of 12 years since Narendra Modi was first sworn in as Prime Minister in May 2014, with senior party leaders amplifying a coordinated messaging push around women's welfare achievements.

Policy Backdrop

Chouhan specifically cited schemes covering water, sanitation, cooking fuel, banking access, housing, and self-help groups as the pillars of this empowerment drive. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, launched on 1 May 2016, extended LPG connections to women in below-poverty-line households, while the Swachh Bharat Mission, inaugurated on 2 October 2014, prioritised the construction of household toilets — many registered in women's names.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, rolled out on 28 August 2014, brought millions of women into the formal banking system for the first time. Alongside it, the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana — approved in 2016 as a successor to the earlier Indira Awas Yojana — gave ownership priority to women beneficiaries for pucca houses built under the programme.

The National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), which predates the Modi government but was significantly scaled up post-2014, has provided credit linkage and micro-enterprise support to women through a network of self-help groups (SHGs) across rural India. Chouhan highlighted that these groups have connected 'lakhs of women' to self-reliance and entrepreneurship over the past 12 years.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the schemes cited are rural women — particularly those from economically weaker sections — and self-help group members who have accessed credit and livelihood support through NRLM-linked networks. The government has consistently framed basic-service delivery in these sectors as instruments of women's empowerment, linking infrastructure access to financial inclusion.

This framing of 'Nari Shakti' as both a welfare goal and a political identity has become a recurring theme in BJP communications, positioning women beneficiaries as active agents of national development rather than passive recipients of state support. Chouhan's post reinforces this narrative by describing the 'empowered woman of today' as 'Viksit Bharat ki sabse badi shakti' — the greatest strength of a developed India.

What's Next

With Parliament's next budget session approaching, attention will turn to fresh data on scheme coverage and any new guidelines on SHG credit limits that the government may announce. The #12YearsOfNariShakti campaign signals that women's welfare will remain a central plank in the ruling party's political communications ahead of upcoming electoral cycles. Chouhan's visibility on this messaging — given his own track record of welfare-scheme implementation during his tenures as Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh — adds weight to the BJP's outreach to women voters in rural heartland states.