Telangana Women & Child Welfare Minister Seethakka speaking at the panel discussion on “Fostering Entrepreneurship in Women”, at the Global Summit, in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Women-led development emerged as a major theme at the Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025 as Minister for Women & Child Welfare, Seethakka said Telangana is leading the transformation of women ensuring they lead businesses and economy gains stability.
Speaking at the panel discussion on “Fostering Entrepreneurship in Women”, the Minister highlighted the scale of women’s networks in the State reminding that Telangana has built India’s largest and most influential women’s collective with 65 lakh self-help group members – powering both rural and urban economies.
Ms. Seethakka underlined that while women in developed countries contribute nearly 40% to GDP, India has not crossed 20%. Telangana aims to change this narrative. “We want to raise women’s workforce participation from 52% to 90% by 2047,” she announced.
The Minister explained the initiatives launched over the past two years mark, which she said, is a decisive shift from welfare to empowerment. Interest-free loans, large-scale credit support through Stree Nidhi, and the creation of lakhs of micro and small enterprises have transformed women’s economic mobility, she argued.
Women-led enterprises are expanding into innovative sectors, she said. From women-run canteens in government offices and tourist locations to school uniform production, school development works, RTC rental bus procurement, petrol bunks and grain procurement centres, new income avenues have opened across the State. She also highlighted a first-of-its-kind initiative, 64 MW solar power plants across 32 districts, fully operated by women’s groups.
She said the Maha Lakshmi free bus travel scheme has revolutionised mobility, providing daily travel for 30 lakh women and saving households ₹7,600 crore so far. The ₹500 gas cylinder scheme has benefited 45 lakh families, offering significant relief.
Future goals include empowering one crore women, building a ₹1 lakh crore women-driven economy, and providing large-scale institutional credit.
Ms. Seethakka invited investors, national corporations and international industry leaders to explore Telangana’s women-led development ecosystem. “Telangana is ready. Our women are ready. This is the time for women-driven growth,” she declared.
The session was attended by PR&RD Principal Secretary N. Sridhar, SERP CEO Divya Devarajan, Women & Child Welfare Secretary Anita Ramachandran, Housing MD Goutham, and Disabled Welfare Director Shailaja.
The discussion was moderated by WE-Hub CEO Seetha Pallichola, with panellists including former Additional Secretary (Rural Development) Charanjit Singh, Shopify India Head Bharti Balakrishnan, Pradan Integrator Madhu Ketan, and Resilience AI CEO R. Samhita.
Published – December 08, 2025 08:43 pm IST
