Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj today to participate in what the government says will be a “one of its kind programme” that will be attended by over two lakh women. This will be the 10th day the prime minister will spend in Uttar Pradesh in just the last month as he leads the BJP’s campaign in the politically crucial state where elections are likely to start in less than two months.

In front-page ads across newspapers , the government said the programme – held as per ‘the vision of the Prime Minister to empower women’ – will see PM Modi transfer around ₹ 1,000 crore in the bank account of Self Help Groups (SHGs), benefitting around 16 lakh women members of the SHGs

While the event is being organised by the government, it is expected to be similar to recent ones in Uttar Pradesh in the last month – with the PM using government functions to take digs at the opposition, particularly Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav, including calling him a terrorist sympathiser at one such event. Mr Yadav has hit back challenging the BJP to organise a rally on its own without using government infrastructure.

“This transfer is being done under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM), with 80,000 SHGs receiving Community Investment Fund (CIF) of ₹ 1.10 lakh per SHG and 60,000 SHGs receiving Revolving Fund of ₹ 15000 per SHG,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a press release.

During the programme, the Prime Minister will also transfer stipends in the account of people engaged in doorstep financial services at grassroot level (known as Business Correspondent-Sakhis) to help them stabilise their work before they start earning through commission on transactions.

The programme will also witness the Prime Minister transfer over ₹ 20 crore to more than 1 lakh beneficiaries under the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Scheme. The Scheme provides conditional cash transfer to a girl child at different stages of her life.

“The total transfer is ₹ 15,000 per beneficiary. The stages are at birth (Rs. 2000), on completing one year complete vaccination (Rs. 1000), on admission in class-I (Rs. 2000), On admission in class-VI (Rs. 2000), on admission in class-IX (Rs. 3000), on admission in any degree/ diploma course after passing class X or XII (Rs. 5000),” as per the release.

Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of 202 Supplementary Nutrition Manufacturing Units. These units are being funded by the Self Help Groups and will be constructed at the cost of approx ₹ 1 crore for one unit. These units will supply the Supplementary Nutrition under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in 600 blocks of the state.