Azim Premji University study finds Shakti scheme transformed women’s mobility in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): A study by Azim Premji University has found that Karnataka's Shakti scheme, which offers free bus travel for women, has significantly transformed women's mobility in Bengaluru.
The report—Gender, Welfare, and Mobility: Impact of Shakti Scheme on BMTC Transport Transformation—authored by economists Tamoghna Halder and Arjun Jayadev from the university's Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy, notes that the scheme has reshaped "the gendered patterns of access to the city", according to a press release issued on Thursday.
Launched on June 11, 2023, the Shakti scheme was among the pre-poll guarantees of the ruling Congress government and was implemented within a month of it coming to power. The initiative provides free travel for women across Karnataka in non-luxury government-run buses.
Women now form the majority of passengers on several of Bengaluru's busiest routes, including those passing through the Central Business District (CBD).
Analysing 2.89 crore trips made on Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation capacity-operated buses between January 2023 and January 2025, the study found that women's ridership increased 2.5 times after the scheme's launch and has since stabilised at a new level where women outnumber men by an average ratio of 60:40.
This, the report states, marks a "structural shift in access to public transport."
While the Shakti subsidy marginally exceeds fare revenue from non-beneficiaries, the study observes that the "overall gap is narrow relative to the scale of the scheme."
In terms of geographical equity, uptake has been strongest in northern, western, and central Bengaluru. However, eastern peripheries and peri-urban, largely migrant neighbourhoods lag, possibly due to weaker BMTC coverage and the exclusion of migrant women from the scheme, it said.
The study also found a sharp rise in women riders along Metro feeder corridors. Following the Purple Line extension, some routes have shown a bus-to-metro shift, though Shakti users continue to prefer buses due to zero fares.
On social equity, the study notes, "There is no significant difference in women's ridership between the most and least SC-ST concentrated wards in Bengaluru, suggesting that access to the Shakti scheme is not contingent on the caste profile of a neighbourhood."
Route-specific analysis indicates that affordable bus services have expanded women's zones of commute to areas offering better socio-economic opportunities, including the CBD, thereby enhancing access to employment, education, and healthcare.
The authors identified three key policy priorities. "There is a need to expand BMTC in terms of fleet size, frequency, and integration with the metro to absorb demand, while improving last-mile connectivity to ensure universality," said Jayadev.
Halder added, "Extending benefits to migrant women, who remain excluded despite being among the city's most mobility-constrained groups, is key to fostering inclusive urban citizenship."
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
