In Haryana, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has reiterated his government’s commitment towards women’s empowerment. He was speaking at a state-level programme organized in Panchkula today on the occasion of International Women’s Day. Haryana Assembly Speaker Mr. Harvinder Kalyan, Women and Child Development Minister Mrs. Shruti Chaudhary, and Health Minister Arti Rao were also present on this occasion.

The Chief Minister made many important announcements in the direction of women’s welfare. He said that regular women government employees in Haryana government offices will now get 25 holidays instead of 20 per year. Similarly, women employees working in Haryana Skill Employment Corporation who used to get 10 holidays per year will now, apart from these annual leaves, be given one additional leave per month.

He announced that women of the state will be provided interest-free loans up to Rs 1 lakh for setting up dairy units. Apart from this, Mr. Nayab Singh Saini virtually inaugurated 44 new Anganwadi centres in the state and laid the foundation stone of Bal Bhavan in Charkhi Dadri. He also launched the portal for domestic violence complaint registration and monitoring, MIS portal for Aapki Beti-Hamari Beti and SNP demand and supply portal.

Women from all over the state were honoured for their achievements and their important role in society on the occasion. These honours were given in various categories. Mrs. Shanta Ranga of Karnal was honoured with the Smt. Sushma Swaraj Award, and Bala Verma of Hisar and Rekha Rani Dhiman of Jind were honoured with the Indira Gandhi Mahila Shakti Award. Meenu Devi of Hansi was honoured with the Kalpana Chawla Shaurya Award, while the Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Kamlesh Arora of Ambala. Himani Sabharwal, a tenth-class student of Barara, was honoured for spreading awareness among people about cleanliness and prevention of malaria and dengue for the last 9 years in collaboration with the health department.