New Delhi: The sacred city of Tirupati has emerged as a beacon of progress with the successful conclusion of the First National Conference of Parliamentary and Legislative Committees on Women Empowerment, held from September 14 to 15, 2025. This historic two-day event culminated in the adoption of the Tirupati Resolution, a bold framework to position women as central drivers of India’s vision for Viksit Bharat by 2047. By emphasizing gender-responsive governance, economic empowerment, and digital inclusion, the conference marked a pivotal step toward reshaping India’s future with women at the helm.
Tirupati Prepares for a Historic Gathering
In the days leading up to the conference, Tirupati buzzed with meticulous preparations. The Rahul Convention Centre, selected as the venue, underwent a comprehensive transformation, combining aesthetic enhancements with robust security protocols to accommodate a distinguished roster of national leaders. On September 13, 2025, District Collector S. Venkateswar personally oversaw final arrangements, ensuring the venue was primed for its moment in the national spotlight.
Security measures were stringent, reflecting the event’s significance. A multi-layered fortification plan safeguarded attendees, while the state Transport Department mobilized 220 vehicles to ferry very important persons (VVIPs) from airports and railway stations to the venue and their accommodations. Regional Transport Officer K. Muralimohan conducted a briefing for drivers, stressing exceptional hospitality, strict adherence to road safety norms, and a focus on comfort for the women delegates, aligning with the conference’s core theme of dignity and empowerment.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s itinerary added to the anticipation. Arriving by helicopter at Tanapalle near the venue, he planned a brief stop at a local wedding before joining the conference to welcome Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. His schedule included a group photo session with delegates and a lunch, after which he departed for Amaravati, demonstrating the seamless coordination that defined the event’s logistics.
A Powerhouse of Leadership and Ideas
The conclave brought together an impressive array of leaders, including Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister Naidu, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh, Women’s Empowerment Parliamentary Committee Chairperson Daggubati Purandeswari, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, and Legislative Council Chairman K. Moshen Raju. The gathering was further enriched by Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs), and Members of Legislative Councils (MLCs) from various states and union territories.
The agenda was robust, addressing critical issues such as technological barriers to women’s advancement, strategies for women-led development to achieve Viksit Bharat, and the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting. These discussions, rooted in legislators’ on-the-ground experiences, aimed to bridge the gap between policy formulation and tangible outcomes, ensuring women’s voices resonate in decision-making processes across India.
Women as Catalysts of Change
At its core, the conference championed a transformative shift: redefining women not as passive recipients of welfare but as active architects of national progress. This women-led development model seeks to harness women’s potential as drivers of economic and social transformation, unlocking a vast reservoir of human capital. The Tirupati Resolution crystallized this vision, pledging to integrate a gender lens into all facets of governance, ensuring policies are evaluated for their impact on women.
A cornerstone of the resolution is the institutionalization of gender-responsive budgeting, which reimagines financial planning as a tool for equity. By prioritizing women’s needs in sectors like health, education, skills, and livelihoods, and using gender-disaggregated data to track outcomes, this approach aims to make budgets instruments of social justice. The resolution also tackled the digital divide, calling for increased women’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, enhanced cyber safety measures, and expanded digital literacy programs to position women as creators in the technology landscape.
India’s Achievements in Women’s Empowerment
India has made significant strides in advancing women-led development. At the grassroots level, 46% of elected representatives in local governments are women, a milestone driven by reservation policies that have democratized leadership in villages and municipalities. In education, 43% of graduates in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) are women, signaling a growing pool of talent poised to drive innovation.
Financial empowerment initiatives have been equally impactful. Programs like the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) and Stand-Up India have fueled women’s entrepreneurship, with women comprising 69% and 84% of beneficiaries, respectively. These schemes have empowered women to launch and scale businesses, injecting vitality into the economy and fostering self-reliance.
These achievements underscore India’s commitment to enhancing women’s health, skills, and autonomy, aligning with the broader goal of inclusive national progress.
Persistent Challenges Demand Action
Despite these gains, significant obstacles remain. Politically, women’s representation at the national level is limited, with only 14% of Lok Sabha seats held by women, highlighting a critical gap in high-level decision-making. Economically, while 43% of STEMM graduates are women, they constitute just 27% of the STEM workforce, according to World Bank data, due to biases in hiring, promotions, and workplace environments.
Social and cultural barriers further impede progress. Patriarchal attitudes, safety concerns, early marriages, and unequal household responsibilities restrict women’s participation in public and professional spheres. The digital divide exacerbates these inequities: National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data reveals that only 33% of women aged 15-49 have accessed the internet, compared to 57% of men, limiting opportunities in an increasingly digital world.
The conference confronted these challenges head-on, using them as a springboard for the Tirupati Resolution’s actionable commitments.
Government Initiatives Paving the Way
India’s government has deployed a robust suite of policies to advance women’s empowerment. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam of 2023, reserving 33% of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, promises to amplify female representation in national and state legislatures. The 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment Acts of 1992 laid the groundwork by reserving one-third of local government seats for women, contributing to the 46% grassroots representation milestone.
Safety is a priority through Mission Shakti, which establishes One-Stop Centres to provide integrated police, medical, and legal support for survivors of violence. The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme tackles gender discrimination by promoting girl child education and survival, addressing issues like female foeticide and school dropouts.
These initiatives, woven into the conference’s narrative, demonstrate how strategic policies can dismantle barriers and foster resilient communities.
Om Birla’s Vision for a Women-Led Future
The conference reached its zenith on September 15, 2025, coinciding with the International Day of Democracy. In his valedictory address, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla underscored women’s economic empowerment as a cornerstone of Viksit Bharat. He advocated for sustainable models investing in women’s health, education, skills, and entrepreneurship, describing these as keys to unlocking vast human capital for resilient growth. Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer’s closing remarks reinforced the event’s unifying vision.
Birla framed India’s democracy as a civilizational value rooted in equality, dialogue, and inclusion, calling India the “Mother of Democracy.” He cited reformers like Savitribai Phule, whose pioneering work in women’s education, including literacy drives for elderly women in Maharashtra, continues to inspire policy innovation. Highlighting rural women’s successes in academics, entrepreneurship, and community leadership, he called for scaling these opportunities nationwide.
On gender-responsive budgeting, Birla described it as a socio-economic model ensuring equitable access to healthcare, education, and livelihoods. He proposed establishing Gender Budget Cells in ministries, increasing funding for women’s priorities, and using data to monitor outcomes, transforming budgets into tools for inclusive growth. In the digital realm, he urged bridging the divide through literacy missions modeled on past adult education campaigns, prioritizing cyber safety and STEM inclusion to empower women as technology innovators.
The Tirupati Resolution: A Roadmap for Progress
Unanimously adopted, the Tirupati Resolution provides a clear blueprint for advancing women’s empowerment. It commits to integrating gender perspectives across all ministries, increasing allocations for women’s health, education, skills, and entrepreneurship, and institutionalizing gender-responsive budgeting. It also emphasizes building technical capacity at national and state levels.
On technology, the resolution pledges to bridge the digital divide, promote women’s participation in STEM, ensure cyber safety, and expand digital literacy programs. Above all, it reaffirms women-led development as the foundation of national progress, prioritizing education, health, safety, dignity, and self-reliance to realize Viksit Bharat by 2047.
A Call to Action for India’s Future
The Tirupati conference is more than an event; it’s a catalyst for transformative change. For those tracking women empowerment conference Tirupati 2025, Tirupati Resolution, or India gender equality policies, this gathering signals unstoppable momentum. Policymakers, activists, and citizens must now translate these commitments into action, ensuring women’s leadership fuels India’s rise.
In a nation of 1.4 billion, empowering women is not just a goal—it’s the engine for Viksit Bharat. The Tirupati Resolution reminds us: when women lead, India soars.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What was the main objective of the First National Conference of Parliamentary & Legislative Committees on Women Empowerment held in Tirupati?
The conference, held on September 14-15, 2025, aimed to advance women-led development by positioning women as active drivers of India’s progress toward Viksit Bharat by 2047. It focused on integrating gender-responsive governance, promoting economic empowerment, and addressing technological barriers, culminating in the adoption of the Tirupati Resolution.
2. What is the Tirupati Resolution, and what are its key commitments?
The Tirupati Resolution is a roadmap adopted during the conference to prioritize women’s empowerment. It commits to applying a gender lens across all ministries, institutionalizing gender-responsive budgeting, increasing funding for women’s health, education, and skills, bridging the digital divide, promoting women’s participation in STEM, ensuring cyber safety, and expanding digital literacy programs to make women central to national progress.
3. Who were the key attendees at the Tirupati conference?
The conference was attended by prominent leaders, including Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Singh, Women’s Empowerment Parliamentary Committee Chairperson Daggubati Purandeswari, State Legislative Assembly Speaker Ch. Ayyanna Patrudu, Legislative Council Chairman K. Moshen Raju, and numerous MPs, MLAs, and MLCs from across India.
4. What are some of the challenges to women’s empowerment highlighted at the conference?
The conference addressed critical barriers, including low political representation (only 14% of Lok Sabha seats are held by women), a gap in STEM employment (women make up 27% of the STEM workforce despite 43% of STEMM graduates being female), patriarchal norms, safety concerns, early marriages, unequal household responsibilities, and a digital divide (only 33% of women aged 15-49 have used the internet, compared to 57% of men, per NFHS-5).
5. How is the Indian government supporting women-led development, as discussed in the conference?
The government has implemented key initiatives like the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (2023) for 33% reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments (1992) for 33% local government seat reservations, Mission Shakti for women’s safety through One-Stop Centres, and Beti Bachao Beti Padhao to promote girl child education and combat gender discrimination, all aimed at fostering women’s leadership and empowerment.
