India, Sept. 13 -- Women make up 15% of India's pilots, more than any western nation, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Saturday, highlighting the country's global lead in female representation in aviation.

"India has the highest proportion of women pilots in the world, surpassing the United States and Europe," he said at an event in Morena, Madhya Pradesh, where he announced the expansion of the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and laid the foundation stone of a Post Office Passport Seva Kendra.

"The Modi government has said that women have to be made the first priority. To take the country forward, the empowerment of women will do that for us," Scindia said, urging parents to open accounts under Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana scheme.

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