India, Sept. 2 -- The Government of India issued the following news release:

The popular Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar ji, Deputy Chief Ministers Samrat Choudhary ji and Vijay Kumar Sinha ji, other distinguished guests, and my lakhs of sisters from Bihar who are present at this program - my respectful greetings to you all.

I am watching on the television screen in front of me, and I can see lakhs of sisters. Perhaps, in every village of Bihar this has become a huge celebration - such a remarkable sight in itself. What greater fortune in life can there be to receive the blessings of so many mothers and sisters?

Friends,

On this auspicious Tuesday, a very auspicious beginning is being made. Today, the mothers and sisters of Bihar are receiving a new facility - the Jeevika Nidhi Saakh Sahkari Sangh. With this, the sisters associated with Jeevika in every village will now be able to access money more easily; they will receive financial support. This will greatly help them in expanding the work and businesses they are engaged in. And I am especially glad to see that the Jeevika Nidhi system is entirely digital. This means there is no need to approach anyone - all tasks can be completed through the phone itself. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the mothers and sisters of Bihar for this Jeevika Sahkari Sangh. And for this remarkable initiative, I also warmly appreciate Shri Nitish ji and the NDA government of Bihar.

Friends,

A 'Viksit Bharat' (Developed India) rests on the strong foundation of empowered women. And to empower women, it is very important to reduce every type of difficulty from their lives. That is why we are making multifaceted efforts to ease the lives of mothers, sisters, and daughters. We have built crores of toilets for women so that they are freed from the compulsion of open defecation. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, we have constructed crores of permanent houses, while also ensuring that whenever possible, the houses are registered in the name of women. When a woman becomes the owner of a house, her voice carries greater weight.

Mothers and sisters,

To end the crisis of clean drinking water, we launched the Har Ghar Jal Yojana. We started the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which provides free medical treatment up to 5 lakh rupees, so that mothers and sisters do not face difficulties in getting treatment. The central government is also running the free ration scheme today. This scheme has freed every mother from the worry of how to feed her children each day. To increase women's income, we are making them Lakhpati Didis, Drone Didis, and Bank Sakhis. All these initiatives are a great sacred mission of service to mothers and sisters. And today I assure you through this program that the NDA government of Bihar is going to accelerate this campaign even further in the coming months.

Friends,

Bihar is that sacred land where the respect for 'Matru Shakti', the respect for the mother, has always been paramount. Here, people worship Ganga Maiya, Kosi Maiya, Gandaki Maiya, Punpun Maiya. And we all proudly say that Goddess Janaki is a daughter of this land. Brought up in the culture of Bihar, this very Siya Dhiya became revered as Mother Sita in the world. By bowing before Chhathi Maiya, we all feel blessed. In just a few days, the holy festival of Navratri will begin. Across the country, people will worship the nine forms of Goddess Durga. But in Bihar and the Purvanchal region, along with Navdurga, there is also a tradition of Satbahini Puja - the worship of seven sisters as divine forms of the Mother, a tradition that reflects Bihar's deep faith and devotion to the Mother. It has rightly been said about mothers:

(Omitted Hindi content can be viewed at https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2163054 )

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.