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Centre launches fourth edition of Nayi Chetna 4.0 campaign against gender violence

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday launched the fourth edition of a national campaign aimed at strengthening community action against gender-based violence and promoting womens safety, dignity, and economic empowerment across rural India. The month-long campaign, Nayi Chetna 4.0, was launched by Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Government is consistently working towards realising this vision by strengthening womens empowerment and expanding opportunities for rural women across the country, said Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as he launched the campaign. The programme, launched along with Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, will see 11 Union ministries coming together to combat gender-based violence across the country. A tripartite inter-ministerial Letter of Intent between the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Rural Development was also signed at the launch. The WCD Minister underscored that the Letter of Intent between ministries will advance the development of model villages under the violence-free village initiative, ensuring safety, rights, and empowering opportunities for girls and women in rural India. The campaign, organised by Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) under the Ministry of Rural Development, will run across all Indian States and Union Territories until 23 December, according to a ministry statement. Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, highlighted that the collective strength of 10 crore rural women mobilised through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) has transformed Nayi Chetna into a robust grassroots movement. He said the campaign not only empowers women to seek timely support but also inspires them to speak up and bring long-suppressed issues to the forefront, thereby strengthening community-led efforts towards a violence-free and gender-equitable rural ecosystem. Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan underscored the pivotal role of education in addressing gender inequality. He said education is a powerful tool that enables individuals and communities to break long-standing barriers. The campaign focuses on enabling safe mobility, recognising women as key economic contributors, and addressing unpaid care work through shared community responsibility. It further seeks to enhance womens access to assets, credit, skills, and markets, thereby expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship and livelihoods. By advocating gender-responsive policies and budgets, the campaign ensures that womens voices shape decision-making at all levels, reinforcing DAY-NRLMs commitment to equality and inclusive rural development.