PATNA, Sept. 24 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 26 will distribute Rs.7,500-crore through digital link from New Delhi to Bihar women as part of the Nitish Kumar government's ambitious Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana initiative. Specifically, each woman, irrespective of caste and creed, will get initial support of Rs.10,000 each to start a business. Around 75 lakh women are expected to receive the financial assistance and, according to officials in the know of the details, over 1.08-lakh women in rural areas and around 10-lakh in urban areas have already applied The initiative was launched by the Nitish government only a month earlier, ostensibly in a bid to woo the women constituency in the upcoming elections. The scheme seeks to make women economically self-reliant and give a boost to the rural economy. The Prime Minister is expected to visit Bihar on September 29 to inaugurate the Patna Metro, a senior JD(U) leader said. JD(U) leader described the women incentive initiative as the "second phase of women's empowerment to build up the foundation for women-led development after the phenomenal success of the Jeevika programme in the state". The Bihar cabinet had cleared the scheme on August 29. Under the scheme, one woman in each family will get the first instalment of Rs.10,000 to start a business of her own choice and later the assistance could go up to Rs. 2-lakh following assessment of the business ventures. Earlier this month, CM Nitish Kumar had launched the portal for filling of applications online and flagged off 250 publicity vehicles for awareness about the programme. Jeevika CEO Himanshu Sharma said that the response to the scheme had been overwhelming. "Over 1.08-lakh women in rural areas and around 10-lakh in urban areas have already applied. Apart from 75-lakh women getting the money on September 26, the process will continue for others. The PM will click the button for transfer of money to the beneficiaries," he added. The roll-out of the scheme just ahead of the election schedule announcement, the initiative is being viewed as a stroke that can prove to be politically game-changing for the NDA, as all parties have promised different lucrative financial schemes post election to woo the women --- considered to be a 'caste-neutral' lot -- that have already been perceived as supporters of CM Nitish Kumar. Women are in focus despite their lower numbers in the voter list and adverse sex ratio of 882 females per 1,000 male births (according to the health ministry's Health Management Information System (HMRS) report for 2023-24) due to their vigorous voting pattern, consistently outnumbering men in vote count over the last couple of decades. In the 2020 Assembly election also, woman voters outnumbered their male counterparts by a big margin of over 5%. While the voting percentage of men was 54.68%, it was 59.69% for women. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections also, women constituted 60% voting in the overall voting of 57.46%. Opposition parties too have been wooing with their own brands of women-specific schemes. RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav has promised 'Mai-Bahin Samman Yojana' within a month of the formation of his government, under which women will get Rs.2,500/month, on the lines of similar schemes that brought rich dividends in many states. The party has also started circulating forms for women to fill up, drawing attack from the JD(U) and the BJP for "resorting to unethical means to lure women on a non-existent scheme". Congress launched 'Mahila Ki Baat, Congress Ke Saath' campaign with a promise to include women's needs in its election manifesto and Rs.2,500 per month. Bihar Congress president Rajesh Ram said Nitish Kumar was aping the Opposition's schemes to hoodwink the masses, as had he wanted, he could have implemented them any day in the last 20 years. Jan Suraaj has announced to give 40 of the 243 seats it would contest to women and loans to women at 4% for livelihood and entrepreneurship. A senior party functionary said that it would also come up with a financial scheme in the days to come and launch a credit card kind of scheme amalgamating various financial incentives....