Shakti Scheme Spurs Job Creation: Santosh Lad

Quick summary

• Labor Minister Santosh Lad highlighted the success of Karnataka’s ‘Shakti’ scheme, providing free bus rides for women, at an event in Hubballi.
• The scheme has benefited 500 crore passengers and led to increased employment opportunities for women in the transport sector.
• Women now constitute 45% of state transport bus passengers; the government has spent ₹12,000 crore on its implementation.
• over 10,000 vacancies were filled in the Transport Department and 5,000 new buses procured under this initiative.
• Under NWKRTC alone, women availed 114 crore free rides with daily schedules increasing from 34,000 to 38,000 post-scheme introduction. Recruitment and bus upgrades are ongoing.
• Karnataka boasts over 25,000 buses compared to adjacent states Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Daily passenger traffic totals around 1.20 crore people statewide.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The ‘Shakti’ scheme represents a notable step toward gender equity through accessible transportation in Karnataka. By enabling affordable mobility for women at scale (16 lakh free daily rides under NWKRTC alone), it fosters economic participation while potentially addressing safety issues associated with travel costs. Increased recruitment of staff aligns positively with capacity-building alongside infrastructure development via new buses.

Yet sustainable financing remains essential as ₹12,000 crore was already expended within its scope thus policymakers might explore optimized channels handling long-run budgets realistic integration public visibility wherever citizen-centric roadmap balances operations inclusivity pressing concerns sharper welfare measures spotlight moving systems overall boost acknowledgment wider towns rural outskirts other District.

Read more: The Hindu