<div class="adn ads" data-message-id="16294ca723f4a7ac" data-legacy-message-id="16294ca723f4a7ac" style="padding-bottom: 20px; border-left-style: solid; border-left-color: transparent; padding-left: 4px; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: medium;">''<div class="gs" style="margin-left: 30px;">''<div id=":2a6" class="ii gt " style="font-size: 12.8px; direction: ltr; margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 15px; padding-bottom: 5px; position: relative;">''<div id=":2a5" class="a3s aXjCH m16294ca723f4a7ac" style="overflow: hidden;">''<div dir="ltr">''<div>President Ram Nath Kovind has said that if more women become part of the workforce, both household incomes and the GDP will rise and India can become a more prosperous nation. Addressing the 34th annual session of FICCI Ladies Organisation in New Delhi today, Mr Kovind said there is a need to create conditions for more and more women to come into the workforce.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>He also stressed the need to push harder to ensure appropriate, encouraging and safe conditions at home, in society and at the workplace to enhance the percentage of working women.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>Mr Kovind said, in business and commerce, it is regrettable that women have not been given their due. He said, there is a need to take the magic of entrepreneurship to and facilitate the start-ups of women at the bottom of the pyramid.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>The President said government, civil society and business organisations have to play a big role in it. The President said the government has taken decisive steps to promote a culture of enterprise among citizens, especially women.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>Speaking about Stand-Up India Mr Kovind said, about 45,000 loans have been disbursed, mainly to sole proprietors and almost 39,000 of these have gone to women. He said, under MUDRA scheme, about 117 million loans have been sanctioned and close to 88 million of these loans have gone to women entrepreneurs.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>The President expressed happiness that the number of NPAs in the MUDRA scheme is less than eight per cent of the loans sanctioned.Mr Kovind said, when there is a wilful and criminal default on a bank loan, then it is families of common citizens that suffer.&nbsp;</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>He said, the innocent citizen loses out and ultimately the honest tax-payer bears the burden in it. It is admirable that in small hamlets and among traditionally underprivileged and deprived communities MUDRA entrepreneurs are striving to pay back their loans.</div>''<div><br />''</div>''<div>Mr Kovind called upon the corporate sector to take determined steps towards creating women-friendly and gender-sensitive supply chains to empower women in the economy.&nbsp;</div>''<div class="yj6qo"></div>''<div class="adL"><br />''</div></div>''<div class="adL"></div></div></div>''<div class="hi" style="width: auto; background: #f2f2f2; border-bottom-left-radius: 1px; border-bottom-right-radius: 1px;"></div></div>''<div class="ajx" style="clear: both;"></div></div>''<div class="gA gt acV" style="font-size: 12.8px; width: auto; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top: none; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">''<div class="gB xu" style="border-top: 0px;">''<div class="ip iq" style="clear: both; margin-right: 5px; padding-top: 8px; padding-left: 4px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: #d8d8d8;"></div></div></div>