Transition from women-centric to women-led development in the BJP regime at the Centre since 2014 could pave the way for over 10% annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the future, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said in Coimbatore on Saturday. Providing one-third representation for women in Parliament and State Assemblies after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and delimitation exercises will enable 2% to 3% additional GDP growth to the existing 7% to 8%, the Minister said, referring to global precedents.
Mr. Singh was delivering the keynote address at the BJP’s Professionals Connect 2026, organised by the party’s Professional Cell, on the theme ‘Where Knowledge Meets Nation-building’ in memory of late Union Minister Arun Jaitley. He termed the achievements in household gas connections and toilets as facets of women-centric development. The number of domestic gas connections has risen from 14 crore in 2014 to 33.33 crore now, he said, adding that around 80% of beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana were in rural areas.
The revision in the forecast on global energy demand by International Energy Agency from 20% from India over the next two decades (made in 2021) to 35% now, was an indicator of India’s fast-paced economic growth. The country was on the cusp of becoming the third largest economy.
