Date: 2026-02-05Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
Women and Child Development, Minister of State, Smt. Savitri Thakur meets Her Excellency Claudia Teresa Valenzuela Lopez, Vice-Minister of Social Development Guatemala and interacts with Indian Community at New York
On February 5, 2026, Union Minister of State Smt. Savitri Thakur met with Her Excellency Claudia Teresa Valenzuela Lopez, Vice-Minister of Social Development Guatemala, on the sidelines of the Commission for Social Development in New York. They reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening their warm and mutually beneficial partnership.
The Minister highlighted India's approach to women-led and inclusive development, outlining key initiatives in social protection, education, health, nutrition, skill development, digital empowerment, and women's economic participation. She also discussed flagship programmes such as Self-Help Groups, Direct Benefit Transfer, PM POSHAN school meals, and digital public infrastructure. Guatemala's inclusion in the ShakthiSAT global STEM initiative for girls was also discussed. Both sides underscored their shared commitment to gender equality, poverty eradication, inclusive growth, and multilateral cooperation at the United Nations, while exploring further collaboration in social development, women's empowerment, and indigenous community welfare. The Minister interacted with members of the Indian diaspora and encouraged contributions to India's development through the Pankhudi Portal and support for Anganwadi centres and childcare homes.
(Release ID: 2223630)
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Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Women and Child Development: Indian government ministry responsible for policies and programs related to women and children.
New York: Location of the meeting between the Indian Minister of State and the Vice-Minister of Social Development Guatemala.
PM POSHAN: Indian school meal programme that provides nutritious meals to children.
Self-Help Groups: Community-based financial intermediaries often used in India to promote women's empowerment.
Direct Benefit Transfer: An initiative that transfers subsidies directly to people through bank accounts.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Women and Child Development, Minister of
State, Smt. Savitri Thakur meets Her Excellency
Claudia Teresa Valenzuela Lopez, Vice-Minister
of Social Development Guatemala and interacts
with Indian Community at New York
Posted On: 05 FEB 2026 12:22PM by PIB Delhi
On the margins of the Commission for Social Development in New York, Union Minister of State Smt.
Savitri Thakur met Her Excellency Claudia Teresa Valenzuela Lopez, Vice-Minister of Social
Development Guatemala and reaffirmed India’s commitment to strengthening its warm and mutually
beneficial partnership with Guatemala.
During the discussions, the Minister highlighted India’s whole-of-government approach to women-led and
inclusive development, outlining key initiatives in social protection, education, health, nutrition, skill
development, digital empowerment, and women’s economic participation. She shared India’s experience
with flagship programmes such as Self-Help Groups, Direct Benefit Transfer, PM POSHAN school meals,
and digital public infrastructure, and expressed India’s willingness to share best practices. Guatemala’s
inclusion in the ShakthiSAT global STEM initiative for girls was very encouraging.
Both sides underscored their shared commitment to gender equality, poverty eradication, inclusive growth,
and multilateral cooperation at the United Nations, while exploring further collaboration in social
development, women’s empowerment, and indigenous community welfare.The Minister also interacted with members of the Indian diaspora, during which she shared details of the
Pankhudi Portal and encouraged the community to actively contribute to India’s development by
supporting Anganwadi centres and childcare homes, including through voluntary and philanthropic
contributions.
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(Release ID: 2223630) Visitor Counter : 282
Read this release in: Urdu , ही , Gujarati , Tamil , Malayalam