On May 7, 2025, the Maharashtra state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis has approved the launch of the ‘Adishakti Abhiyan’, a state-wide women-centric campaign to boost women empowerment at the grassroots level with a budget of Rs.10.50 crores.
- The initiative was launched at a special cabinet meeting held in Choundi (Maharashtra), the birthplace of Ahilyabai Holkar, the famous 18th century queen of the Holkar dynasty, to commemorate her 300th birth anniversary. It is the first cabinet meeting held outside Mumbai.
- The campaign aims to streamline the implementation and awareness of existing government schemes for women and children.
About Adishakti Abhiyan:
i.Focus:The campaign will primarily focus on the key issues such as malnutrition, maternal and infant mortality, domestic violence, sexual harassment and child marriage.
ii.Multi-level committee: To ensure effective execution, committees will be formed at five levels such as village, taluka, district, divisional and state.
- These committees will spread awareness, identify local problems, offer timely solutions, work with Anganwadi workers and Taluka Protection Officers to counsel families, prevent child marriages and support domestic violence victims.
- All Panchayat Samitis are mandated to participate in the campaign, ensuring widespread engagement across the state.
iii.Adishakti Awards: To encourage effective participation, the Maharashtra state government will launch ‘Adishakti Awards’.
- Gram Panchayats will be evaluated annually from January 1st to December 31st, with award selections at taluka, district and state levels. The award ceremony will be held in the first week of March.
iv.Supervision: A state-level committee chaired by the Minister for Women and Child Development; Government of Maharashtra (GoM) will supervise the execution of the campaign. The required modifications during the implementation will be approved by the committee.
Other Announcement:
During the event Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis released a commemorative postage stamp and a special logo bearing the name of Ahilya Devi to commemorate the 300th birth anniversary of Ahilyabai Holkar. He also announced several initiatives to honour her legacy and provide benefits to the Dhangar community, of which Ahilyabai is the descendant.
i.As part of the targeted welfare approach, CM also announced infrastructure projects for youth from the Dhangar Community.
- Hostels for boys and girls of the Dhangar community will be constructed in Pune and Nasik.
ii.He announced the establishment of separate Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in Ahilya Nagar, especially for girls, to provide them with vocational training and skills.
iii.The Maharashtra state government has decided to change the name of the ‘Ahmednagar’ district after Ahilya Devi Holkar.
iv.He also highlighted that Rs.681 crore has been sanctioned for the preservation of Ahilyabai’s memorial in Choundi and a medical college will be named as Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Government Medical College.
About Ahilyabai Holkar:
i.Ahilyabai Holkar was the queen and ruler of the Malwa territory in central India during the 18th century.
ii.She was born on May 31, 1725, in Choundi village of Ahemdnagar district.
iii.She became the queen of Maheshwar after the demise of her husband Khande Rao Holkar.
iv.She is known for the construction and development of temples, Ghats and Dharamshalas.
About Maharashtra:
Chief Minister (CM) – Devendra Fadnavis
Governor – C P Radhakrishnan
Capital – Mumbai
National Parks (NP) – Tadoba NP, Chandoli NP
