Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said true empowerment comes from hand-holding and not freebies and doles.
Interacting with self-help group members from Meghalaya in New Delhi, he said, “To empower the pocket of a person by freebies, by doles, is not true empowerment. True empowerment is that you hand-hold the person so that the person gets himself or herself empowered. That brings joy, brings satisfaction that gives you inner strength, and also makes you proud of your families.”
Dhankhar said India’s northeast is our jewel. In the 1990s, the central government had a policy of ‘Look East’.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave an additional dimension to this policy — ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’. And that action has taken place very effectively,” he said.
“Meghalaya, let me tell you, is heaven for tourists. Bountiful gift of nature,” he said to the SHGs representing Garo Hills, Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills regions
Dhankhar noted that Meghalaya holds vast untapped potential in various sectors, including mining, information technology, tourism, and services. He stressed that human resources must be independent. “And in that category also, societal growth, economic development is balanced when women come forward. I am so happy and delighted that both with respect to the revolving fund and the number is a tenfold increase,” he said.
He commended the state’s economic progress that saw 13 per cent rise in GSDP. “Meghalaya is a large state when it comes to heart, but otherwise geographically not that large. But the size of your economy is good. You’ve set a great target. And your target is the state is aiming for a $10 billion economy by 2028,” he stated.
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and other dignitaries were also present during the interaction.
