Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that the state’s improved law and order situation has boosted night-time business activities and encouraged more women to join the workforce, citing a rise in women’s workforce participation from around 13% in 2017 to 36% currently.
“The confidence of our women, who perform their duties fearlessly at their workplaces during night shifts, is not just an individual achievement but a symbol of the progress of the entire society,” Adityanath said in the post.
The chief minister recalled that the situation was different before 2017, when crime and insecurity restricted commercial activities after sunset and families remained concerned about the safety of women working late hours.“Under the able guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the double-engine government changed this situation. The policy of zero tolerance towards crime and criminals strengthened law and order and prioritised women’s safety,” Adityanath said.
The chief minister cited the rise in women’s workforce participation, from around 13% in 2017 to 36% at present, as a strong expression of growing confidence, economic strength and self-reliance among women in the state. He added that markets now remain open at night, giving traders new opportunities to expand their businesses, while women are able to pursue their professional ambitions in a secure environment.
Separately, Adityanath has credited the state’s zero-tolerance policy with reducing police response time from 65 minutes in 2016 to around five minutes at present, in remarks earlier in October 2026.
Adityanath has also announced that the Uttar Pradesh government will offer one lakh government jobs in the next six months, addressing a Youth Icon Conclave in Lucknow where he outlined progress across law and order, women’s safety, employment generation, entrepreneurship, and technology.
The 36% figure, if sustained, would place Uttar Pradesh above the all-India female labour force participation rate of around 32% as per the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) estimates for women aged 15 and above.
Independent verification of the state-level female labour force participation figure cited by the chief minister is pending, as PLFS and other official datasets break workforce participation differently across urban and rural segments and age bands.
The announcement comes in the lead-up to the next assembly election cycle, with the Yogi government flagging women’s safety, employment, and economic self-reliance as central planks of its outreach.
