SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE LAUNCH OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS' PILOT PROJECT SCHEME FOR MOBILE VALUE ADDED SERVICES (VAS) AND ICT RELATED LIVELIHOOD SKILLS FOR WOMEN'S SELF HELP GROUPS

New Delhi, 7th March, 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to be here when the Scheme for Mobile Value Added Services and ICT related Livelihood Skills for Women's Self Help Groups of the Department of Telecommunications, is being launched. Initiated as a gender budget scheme, it adopts an innovative approach to connect rural women with the ICT sector, by involving women SHGs.

Globalization with communication technologies as one of its main drivers has, indeed, brought about a paradigm shift in the functioning of the economies of the world. Information and Communication Technologies offer an amazing set of opportunities for diversified income generating options. However, it is important that ICT coverage is extended to all regions, sectors and segments of societies. Mobile phones are reaching rural areas providing people voice connectivity. We have to build on this and push for a wider availability of the many more benefits that the use of ICT offers. It is generally recognized that when people have access to information about their livelihoods, or about issues impacting their lives, it can strengthen their decision-making capabilities and their ability to manage their lives. Under the Scheme launched today, Mobile Value Added Services are being designed to provide a variety of useful information to women, about health, social issues, and government schemes, as also livelihood related inputs and training over their mobile phones. It is intended that while the targeted group will benefit through improved skills and livelihoods, the overall rural community will get access to facilities such as locally available mobile repair and solar mobile charging centres. Rural women will thus, become both users and enablers of ICT services. It is for these reasons that the project has been rightly named 'Sanchar Shakti'. I wish it success and call on all stakeholders to work dedicatedly to make this a meaningful project.

The current Scheme should also serve the purpose of increasing tele-density, as well as broad band connectivity in rural areas, enabling the rural populace to join the cyber community and in this way, bridge the digital divide. With the creation of ICT-skills sets, in rural areas, over a period of time, these areas can become centers for the consumption and production of various ICT goods and services, including hubs for processing outsourced work.

Tomorrow - the 8th of March - is observed as the International Women's Day. I take this opportunity to convey my greetings to all women for their well-being and prosperity. It is a day to celebrate the achievements of women, even as we look ahead to meeting the agenda of gender equality. Women empowerment is a global objective, and also an important national objective in India. Their progress occupies a special place in my priorities. Since becoming the President, every year on International Women's Day and thereafter, I have interacted with women. If it was with women scientists in 2008, when I gave away the National Awards for Women's Development through Application of Science and Technology; it was with women's groups in 2009, when I launched a mass awareness Campaign on Female Foeticide; and it was with a large number of those involved in gender issues in 2010, when the National Mission on Empowerment of Women for the coordinated delivery of women-centric programmes of the Government was launched with my keen interest. The global theme for events on International Women's Day this year is 'Equal Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women'. The eve of this special day is an opportune time for the launch of this Scheme of the Department of Telecommunications.

Women constitute about half of our population, and until they are empowered, we will have an unfinished task on hand. For achieving our objective of growth with equity, their mainstreaming into the national development process is essential. Many in India have reached high positions, and many others are doing well in different spheres, even in professions once unthinkable for them. Tomorrow, I look forward to being with the 88 Mahila Battalion of the CRPF, the first full woman Battalion in the country. But yet, opportunity prospects remain beyond the reach of a vast majority of them. When we speak of the empowerment of women, it should be remembered that giving them economic opportunities is central for their advancement.

Real development cannot take root if it bypasses women, who represent the very pivot around which social change takes shape. As we make progress on gender mainstreaming, more and more women will become full partners in the many activities of the nation and society. We should bear in mind that this is also likely to generate another set of challenges, which would need our attention. When a woman joins the workforce, we need to think of issues that can crop up regarding child care support, balancing home and professional lives, and the impact on human relationships. We need approaches that are not only comprehensive, but forward looking, so that challenges of an evolving society can be met. Women's interface with the knowledge world itself and their joining ICT generated livelihood can have some gender specific aspects which may need to be looked into. Communication technology has proved very useful for exchange of best practices, and for providing a platform for exchange of information on common problems. Women's groups can also look at linking with each other through ICT. I urge them to use science and technology, innovations and inventions, mobiles and the internet for improving their lives.

Development is a collective venture. Therefore, Government, Civil Society, Local Communities and women themselves would have to work in coordination. Their Self Help Groups in India are an expression to better their lives, through pooling their skills and resources, however meager, to undertake income generating activities. Government seeks to strengthen this movement, including through the establishment of a development fund for women's SHGs. I am confident that Self Help Groups will be forthcoming in joining this Scheme, which will help them in becoming more self-confident. Those involved in imparting training to them, should interact with SHGs, to understand the areas in which they can be supported through ICT tools.

I believe that social responsibility is part and parcel of corporate functioning. A business does not function in a vacuum or in an isolated fashion. It draws upon resources of the nation including its human capital. It therefore, owes a responsibility to undertake its operations in a manner that seeks to maximize benefits to society, and to serve the national goal of socio-economic development, which includes gender equality. India is one of the leaders of the ICT industry. Our contribution to innovations and inputs for the success of this sector are immense. By joining hands with social causes, the ICT sector can also be a pioneer in setting standards of working for community welfare. I call upon ICT companies to extend support to the Scheme being launched today to empower women.

With these words, I wish the very best to the Department of Telecommunications for the success of this Scheme, and to spread ICT to women including in rural areas.

Thank You.

Jai Hind!