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In partnership with
Empowering women & girls to realise their full potential
Designed by IPE Global As we celebrate 75 years of India’s independence we note the strides taken by our country towards freedom - from unemployment, illiteracy, poverty,
lack of opportunities and most importantly an unfair and inequitable society.
As NITI Aayog and as citizens it is our moral, social and constitutional responsibility to ensure the women of our country progress, by providing them
with equal rights and opportunities. Since 2018, Women Entrepreneurship Platform has been such an endeavor - pushing the needle towards a more
equitable society. The platform addresses informational asymmetry and opportunity inequities within the entrepreneurial ecosystem to propel women
entrepreneurs building India.
As we celebrate Amrit Mahotsav observing 75 years of independence, we are also aware that the ocean of opportunities open to today’s women would
have not been possible without the struggles of our female heroes of yesteryears. And so, this year Women Entrepreneurship Platform in the fifth edition
of the Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards is saluting 75 strong women of our country who are building
‘Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat’ – via self-
sufficient businesses and/or overcoming challenges through unique business solutions.
I congratulate all the awardees and I am extremely grateful to our ecosystem partners who have helped empower these courageous women to take their
dreams to the next level. I would also complement the NITI Aayog team led by Anna Roy in making WEP and WTI Awards such great success. I wish
them all the best.
Mr. Amitabh Kant
CEO, NITI Aayog
Ms. Anna Roy
Senior Adviser, NITI Aayog
Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest sons of India, quoted that, “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is
improved, It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.”
Women are the backbone of society and have always played a positive role in shaping our society. Women entrepreneurs in particular, represent a
substantial proportion of India’s economy and yet the societal and systemic barriers are disproportionately skewed against them.
NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform is a unique public-private partnership initiative where individuals collaborate and help scale up the efforts
towards empowering women by promoting entrepreneurship. The low women entrepreneurship rates are part of a broader gender gap in economic
participation and opportunity. Thus, it is crucial to encourage women to use their acquired skills by joining the workforce. Mentorship and skilling programmes
of WEP shall equip entrepreneurs to level the field. Sharing their success stories in social and traditional media provides inspiration and proof that business
can be a woman’s world, too, and therefore strengthen the confidence of younger female entrepreneurs. Community module of WEP connects not required
the women entrepreneurs and provides a seamless platform for networking and building sisterhood.
As India celebrates its 75 years of existence as an independent nation, WEP celebrates 75 female stalwarts who have enabled
Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat.
Our small efforts towards building a conducive ecosystem stand re-affirmed as these women stand tall representing the new India - the bold India.
Jai Hind!
FOREWORD MESSAGE SEARCH & SELECT COMMITTEE
ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA
ROOPA KUDVA
DEBJANI GHOSH
SHOMBI SHARP
RONNIE SCREWVALA
Chairperson & Chief Executive Officer - Salesforce, India
Managing Partner - Omidyar Network India
President - NASSCOM
UN Resident Coordinator for India
First-Generation Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Opinion leader & Author
Arundhati Bhattacharya oversees the growth strategy of Salesforce, India and plays an integral role in defining Salesforce’s
relationship within its ecosystem. Prior to Salesforce, Arundhati was the first woman chairperson at the State Bank of India, credited with
ushering in the digital transformation era. With 40+ years of rich experience in the financial sector, Arundhati has earned a string of
accolades to her name; most notably - “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes, “Top 50 globally most powerful women in
business” and “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” list by Fortune.
Roopa leads Omidyar Network India and is responsible for overall strategy, investments, operations and portfolio development. She
spent 23 years with CRISIL, and was its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. In 2020, she led CRISIL’s transformation from
being India’s premier ratings agency into a diversified global analytical company. Roopa is regularly featured in the media as a prominent
woman leader of corporate India. She has served as a member of several policy-level committees relating to the Indian financial system,
and has been on several government, regulatory and policy committees and industry associations.
Debjani Ghosh is the President of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). A veteran of the technology
industry, a staunch champion of inclusion in corporate India, Debjani is a firm believer in the power of technology as the greatest equalizer.
Debjani has been honored in 2018 by the President of India under the auspices of the ‘First Ladies’ programme and, Vogue declared her
as the Tech Leader of the year 2020. Recognizing her contribution to technology, she was also facilitated in ‘40 over 40 - World’s Most
Inspiring Women’ list by Female One Zero (F10) Magazine in 2022.
Mr Shombi Sharp, a national of the United States of America, is the UN Resident Coordinator for India since November 2021and has
devoted more than 25 yrs of his career to promoting inclusive and sustainable development internationally. He most recently served as
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Armenia, after holding several leadership positions at the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in various capacities across Armenia, Georgia, Lebanon, Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States in the Russian Federation,
and New York. He is a published author of works in health economics and was a United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) “Policy Champion” as well as a nominee for the UNDP Administrator’s Award.Ronnie first pioneered Cable TV for all of India and went on to build one of the largest toothbrush operations in India. He established a big
media and entertainment company – UTV. Newsweek termed him the Jack Warner of India, Esquire rated him one of the 75 most influential
people of the 21
st
century and Fortune tagged him as Asia’s 25 most powerful. He is an author of two books: ‘Dream With Your Eyes Open’
and ‘Skill It, Kill It’ and the Co-Founder & Chairman of upGrad which zeroes in on the massive Online Education market. Through his Swades
Foundation, he has committed to empower one million lives in rural India. JURY MEMBERS
Aarti Mohan
Co-Founder & Partner, Sattva
Dr. Ayesha Chaudhary
Officer on Special Duty,
PSA’s Office
Arpita Agarwal
Chief of Staff to India President
and MD, Dell Technologies
Harjinder Kaur Talwar
MD & CEO, Comvision
India Pvt. Ltd.
Abhishek Chaudhary
Vice President- Corporate
Affairs, NICDC
Dr. Rohini Shrivatsa
National Technology
Officer, Microsoft
Arun Chawla
Director-General, FICCI
Harish Krishnan
Managing Director & Chief Policy
Officer Cisco Systems, India &
SAARC
Abhishek Sinha
Co-Founder and CEO, Eko India
Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Sarayu Natarajan
Founder, Aapti
Ashwajit Singh
Founder & Managing
Director, IPE Global
Himanshu Sikka
Chief Strategy and Diversification
Officer & Practice Lead –
Health,Nutrition and WASH,
IPE Global
Aniket Doegar
CEO, Haqdarshak
Dr. Shanta Thoutam
CIO, Telangana State
Innovation Cell
Bhawna Arora
Founder, KAB Welfare Foundation
Jyotsna Silting
Principal Chief
Conservator of Forest
Arnab Kumar
Former India Director of Fintech Strategy
and Investments for Prosus
(Naspers Group)
Gaurav Jai Gupta
Founder and Creative
Director - Akaaro
Desh Gaurav Sekhri
Co-founder, Sports and Society
Accelerator
Jyoti Vij
Deputy Secretary General,
FICCI Kanishka
Head – Service Lines, India/South Asia,
WWPS Amazon
Rajiv Aggarwal
Director & Head of Public
Policy, India at Meta
Percy Bell
Minister-Counsellor
Treasury, New Delhi
Susan Ferguson
Country Representative UN
Women Office for India
Mamta Kohli
Senior Social Development Adviser
with Foreign, Commonwealth &
Development Office
Kawaljit Singh Oberoi
Corporation Bank, Partner KS
Oberoi & Co.
Ramesh Abhishek
IAS (Retired)
Prashant Tandon
Co-Founder, 1MG
Technologies Pvt.Ltd.
Tauseef Ahmad Mirza
Chairman & Managing Director,
Mirza International Ltd.
Manu Shukla
Head, Government Transformation
–India & South Asia
Sharad Sharma
Co-Founder, iSPIRT Foundation
Krishna Sarma
Managing Partner,
Corporate Law Group
Sanjiv Gupta
COO, Penguin Randomhouse
Raghavendra Singh
President - Group Public Affairs &
Government Business at
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ullas Marar
Deputy Head of Project, GIZ
Mukesh Mohan Gupta
President, Chamber of Indian Micro
Small & Medium Enterprises
Shivani Malik
Director, Da Milano
Lakshmi Puri
Former Assistant Secretary General,
United Nations
Saurabh Bajpai
Deputy General Manager, SIDBI
Rahul Matthan
Technology Head & Partner, Trilegal
Yogesh D. Brahmankar
CEO, SCIE
Nidhi Hola
Country Marketing director, Dell
Shriya Sethi
Country Director, Uchicago/IIC
Parnal Vats
Manager Government Engagement
and Policy Response, PayPal
Simmi Dhamija
Chief Transformation Officer,
Tech Mahindra 13
NITI AAYOG - WEP TEAM
ANNA ROY
Senior Adviser
SABYASACHI UPADHYAY
Associate
PREETI SYAL
Senior Specialist
LIANKHANKHUP GUITE
Research Officer
SUMITA SONI
Young Professional
INDRANI DASGUPTA
Communication Lead
SAURABH THUKRAL
Senior Specialist
SALONI SACHDEVA
Young Professional 14 15 TABLE OF CONTENTS
NISHA JAIN GROVER
Vatsalya Legacy Educational
Society
SUPRIYA PAUL
Josh Talks
SUCHITRA SINHA
Ambalika
AKSHYA SHREE
Tad Udyog Pvt. Ltd.
(Silpakarman)
VIDYA SUBRAMANIAN
Vidya Subramanian Academy
JO AGGARWAL
Touchkin eServices Private
Limited (Wysa)
TANUJA ABBURI
Transformation Skills India Pvt. Ltd.
(Beyond Pinks)
TRUPTI JAIN
Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd.
ROMITA GHOSH
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd.
ALINA ALAM
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
VIJAYA SWITHA
Chitrika
DR. RADHIKA BATRA
Every Infant Matters
NIMISHA VARMA
Aloe Ecell Pvt. Ltd.
HARDIKA SHAH
Kinara Capital
SAYALEE MARATHE
Aadyaa Originals Pvt. Ltd.
SULAJJA FIRODIA MOTWANI
Kinetic Green Energy and Power
Solutions
RICHA SINGH
YourDOST Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
POOJA SHARMA GOYAL
Building Blocks Learning
Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
GAURI GOPAL AGRAWAL
Skilled Samaritan Foundation
(Sirohi)
ANU ACHARYA
Mapmygenome India Ltd.
DR. APARNA HEGDE
ARMMAN
CHAYAA NANJAPPA
Nectar Fresh
DIPA CHAURE
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat
(Rural Mart)
VICTORIA JOSLIN D’SOUZA
Swachha Eco Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
PRACHI KAUSHIK
Vyomini Social Enterprise
ANJU BIST
Amrita SeRVe (Saukhyam
Reusable Pad)
MEHA LAHIRI
Recity Network Pvt. Ltd.
NEHA SATAK
Astrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
SAVITA GARG
Eclassopedia
PRITI PATEL
Raspian Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
ROOPA MAGANTI
Greentatwa Agri Tech LLP
ADITI BHUTIA MADAN
BluePine Foods Pvt. Ltd.
ANURADHA PAREKH
Vikara Services Pvt. Ltd.
(The Better India)
PAYAL NATH
Kadam Haat
GEETA SOLANKI
Unipads India Pvt. Ltd.
22
26
34
42
30
38
48
5155
23
27
35
43
31
39
49
5256
24
28
36
44
32
40
50
5357
2529
37
45
33
41
5458 NEELAM CHHIBER
Vatsalya Legacy Educational
Society
AKSHITA SACHDEVA
Trestle Labs Pvt. Ltd.
KIRTI POONIA
Okhai
PUUNAM G KAUSHIK
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals
Pvt. Ltd.
SHALINI KHANNA SODHI
NAB India Centre for Blind
Women and Disability Studies
MEGHA BHATIA
Our Voix
ANJU SRIVASTAVA
Wingreens Farms Pvt. Ltd.
MIRA KULKARNI
Forest Essentials
DR. SWAPNA PRIYA K
Farms2fork Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
RAJOSHI GHOSH
Hasura
SUCHETHA BHAT
Dream a Dream
DR. RAMYA S MOORTHY
Nimaya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
SAMINA BANO
RightWalk Foundation
SHAHEEN MISTRI
Teach For India
DR. DARSHANA JOSHI
VigyanShaala International
KHUSHBOO AWASTHI
Mantra Social Services
ADITI AVASTHI
Indiavidual Learning Ltd.
(Embibe)
PREETI RAO
Weljii
NEETU YADAV
Animall Technologies Ltd.
SUGANDHA SUKRUTARAJ
AMBA
CHAHAT VASAL
NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
DR. HINA SHAH
International Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Career
Development (ICECD)
DR. GIRIJA K BHARAT
Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
AARDRA CHANDRA MOULI
Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.
PREMA GOPALAN
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
HASINA KHARBHIH
Impulse NGO Network
AYUSHI MISHRA
DronaMaps Pvt. Ltd.
SUMITA GHOSE
Rangsutra Crafts India
SWATI PANDEY
Arboreal Bioinnovations Pvt. Ltd.
SHANTI RAGHAVAN
EnAble India
MAYURA BALASUBRAMANIAN
Craftizen Foundation
DR. GAYATHRI VASUDEVAN
LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd.
GITANJALI J ANGMO
Himalayan institute of Alternatives
DR. SUSMITA MOHANTY
Earth2Orbit
DHEVIBALA UMAMAHESWARAN
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP
ANITA KUMARI
Madhopur Farmers Producer
Company Ltd.
CHETNA GALA SINHA
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
TRISHLA SURANA
Colour Me Mad Pvt. Ltd.
MALINI PARMAR
Rekke Personal Care Pvt. Ltd.
(Stonesoup.in)
SUCHI MUKHERJEE
LimeRoad
5963
6771
7781
85
93
89
97
6064
6874
7882
86
94
90
98
6165
6975
7983
87
95
91
99
6266
7076
8084
88
96
92
100 20 21
75
STORIES OF
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
CONTRIBUTING IN
MAKING A SASHAKT AUR
SAMARTH BHARAT 22 23
Nurturing Children to
Reach their Full Potential
Mitti Cafe- An Inclusion
in Every Served Meal
Nisha Jain Grover
Vatsalya Legacy Educational Society
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Alina Alam
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Vatsalya legacy was born out of a commitment of the Founder Director
Nisha Jain Grover, to offer individual Educational Programme for
students. It is the only organization in India which offers all three pillars of
counselling, training, and remedial education under one roof.
Nisha prioritises the most sensitive children, including their rights, child
safety issues and inclusive education. The team at Vatsalya truly believes
that inclusiveness and equality are the only two ways for a better India.
Mitti Café is a chain of cafes that provide experiential training and
employment to adults with physical, intellectual and psychiatric
disability. It was founded by Alina Alam, as an outreach initiative
to create awareness about inclusivity and disability rights.
With over 16 cafes all over India, hundreds of adults with special
needs have been served over 5 million meals in a span of four
years. They are enabling and empowering people with special
abilities; by making them economically independent, confident,
and providing a life of dignity.
Vatsalya aims for an
inclusive and literate India
and works towards creating
an atmosphere free from
discrimination, for all
children.
Mitti Café is harnessing the abundant
potential of persons with special abilities by
engaging them in productive activities. 24 25
Creating Sustainable
Livelihood Opportunities
for Women Artisans
Innovative Technological
Solutions Transforming
Telecom Infrastructure
Gauri Gopal Agrawal
Skilled Samaritan Foundation (Sirohi)
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
Neha Satak
Astrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Sirohi is India’s first sustainable, unique, home and furniture brand. Gauri,
Founder and Director of Skilled Samaritan Foundation (Sirohi), started the
enterprise, with an aim to engage and empower women from the marginalized
communities with no formal education. This initiative creatively integrates
technology with design and trains women to make well-designed functional
home & lifestyle products, and secures them with financial independence.
Gauri, a young entrepreneur, proudly states that Sirohi, has till now impacted
more than 15,000 women and families in Northern India. It is on a mission to
become a trailblazer in its efforts to economically empower women of rural
India.
Neha Satak is a serial entrepreneur and a researcher who wants
to beam the internet from space using satellites that carry Astrome
transponders. Her deep-tech startup is accelerating the deployment of
5G and backhaul telecommunication infrastructure through its patented
millimetre wave E-band radios and satellite communication products.
Astrome has received multiple awards for its impact on Telecom
infrastructure in India and the global markets. It is an example of not
required research and corporate worlds coming together to support
entrepreneurs.
Sirohi aspires to be a global
brand for sustainable home and
lifestyle products, promising
uniqueness to each product
which weaves a beautiful story.
Incubated at India’s premier R&D school,
the Indian Institute of Science, Astrome is
supported by organizations like CISCO,
Analog Devices and IESA. 26 27
Inspiring, Informing,
Upskilling India in 10
Vernacular Languages
Women Artisans Build
Entrepreneurial Skills
through Collective Gain
Supriya Paul
Josh Talks
Gurugram, Haryana
Vijaya Switha
Chitrika
Hyderabad, Telangana
Supriya Paul is the CEO & Co-Founder of Josh Talks, India’s largest regional
content and upskilling platform. It is creating an ecosystem to inspire, inform,
upskill and create employment opportunities for the youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3
cities in India.
Available in 10 languages on YouTube, the content garners more than 70
Million views on a monthly basis. Their unique sndroid application - Josh Skills,
which has which has over 2 million downloads, helps youth to overcome
their hesitation of conversing in English. They continue to develop tools that
effectively nurture each individual’s potential.
Vijaya Switha initiated Chitrika to work with artisan communities in Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana, incubating women-owned and managed collectives. Their core
mission is to work with artisans to co-create sustainable and successful business
enterprises that are owned & operated by the artisans themselves.
They enable artisans to form collectives that increase their income levels, manage
market engagements, and build & hone their business skills.
Josh Talks is unlocking
human potential by
building a physical and
digital infrastructure
designed for youth.
Chitrika pioneers in using technology,
management, skilling and design
diversity to augment incomes of artisans. 28 29
Providing Insights into
Genetics for Improved
Health & Well-being
A Unique and Personalized
Approach to Teaching
Anu Acharya
Mapmygenome India Ltd.
Hyderabad, Telangana
Savita Garg
Eclassopedia
New Delhi
Mapmygenome™ is a molecular diagnostics company which encourages
people to be proactive about their health. They provide insights about our
health by combining genetic report and health history that include traits, drug
responses, inherited conditions and diseases.
Anu Acharya, Founder and CEO, Mapmygenome India Ltd., aims to provide
personalized healthcare to 100+ million people worldwide using genomics
and save at least 1 million lives by the year 2030. Their patent service,
Genomepatri™ is a comprehensive assessment of genetic risk for lifestyle
diseases, predisposition to traits, carrier status and drug responses. It is your
unique health profile, which they focus on.
Savita Garg, Founder, Eclassopedia, built on an online tutoring
platform to enable live and interactive learning between a tutor & a
student. The platform aims to provide world-class education to students
irrespective of their location. It is an innovative approach to teaching,
thereby helping students to connect with the subject matter that they
need to pursue.
Through personalized and focused teaching processes, the students
develop the tools they need for ongoing success in their respective
fields of study.
By combining genetic
report and health history
with genetic counseling,
Mapmygenome™
provides actionable steps for
individuals towards a
healthy living.
Eclassopedia is providing personalized
experience through audio and video aids
to enhance quality and innovative learning
for students. 30 31
Promoting India’s Art,
Culture and Heritage to
a Global Platform
Envisioning a Financially
Inclusive World where
every Entrepreneur has
Equal Access to Capital
Vidya Subramanian
Vidya Subramanian Academy
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Hardika Shah
Kinara Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Vidya Subramanian’s dedicated work in online teaching of Carnatic music
and other traditional Indian arts has helped empower nearly a hundred
women artists & teachers through work-from-home opportunities. Vidya
Subramanian Academy facilitates customized, one-on-one learning
sessions in the online environment.
It currently has a growing student body of 1500+ and is run on a sustainable,
social entrepreneurship model. Students and teachers come from diverse
backgrounds and includes learners with special needs. Free video lessons
and podcasts have benefitted several thousands of music lovers.
Hardika Shah turned her vision of supporting underserved entrepreneurs by
launching Kinara Capital to disrupt small business lending in India. Under her
vision and leadership, Kinara is advancing financial inclusion in the MSME
sector. It has led to an impact of INR 700 crores in incremental income
generation and supported 250,000+ jobs in local economies.
With AI/ML data-driven credit decision, it offers collateral-free business loans
to MSMEs. Their flagship “myKinara” app promises 24-hour disbursements
while “HerVikas” programme provides an automatic discount to women
entrepreneurs.
Vidya Subramanian is
taking Carnatic music and
other traditional Indian arts
to a global forum, while
empowering women artists
through creation of work
from home opportunities.
Giving fast and flexible loans without
collaterals to small business entrepreneurs
in India, Kinara Capital transforms lives,
livelihoods and local economies. 32 33
Rural Mart - A Sustainable
Marketplace for Quality
Products
Where Food in the Form
of Dumplings is Served
with Love and Simplicity
Dipa Chaure
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat (Rural Mart)
Nagpur, MaharashtraAditi Bhutia Madan
BluePine Foods Pvt. Ltd.
Faridabad, Haryana
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat, has made a name for itself in India. Dipa Chaure’s efforts
have shown immense success and contributed to a Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat. They provide
livelihoods and engage women from Self Help Groups (SHGs) in local rural areas to produce
high quality value products.
They are currently facilitating 350-500 women in Nagpur district through employment,
product manufacturing, marketing, selling, financing and training services. Their vision is to
reach all women in need, in Maharashtra.
BluePine Foods started with a mission of providing society with high
quality authentic cuisines based on traditional recipes handed down
from families.
Aditi Bhutia Madan, Founder and Director, promotes sustainability by
converting wide range of agro produce into momos and dumplings.
They believe in making their products with utmost love and using
no preservatives. Their vision is to enable and empower individuals
in transforming societies by serving them convenient food, and
establishing a feeling of reliability and simplicity. Blue Pine Foods was
also featured in the latest reality show - Shark Tank India.
Rural Mart is
Empowering women to
take collective decisions in
their interest and providing
them a platform for
financial stability.
By Providing healthy authentic everyday
meals, BluePine Foods envisions to be
a part of every household in India. 34 35
Revival, Development and
Promotion of Languishing Crafts
Suchitra Sinha
Ambalika
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Mrs. Suchitra Sinha has been working tirelessly for last 25 years for the revival, development
and promotion of languishing tribal crafts made by the Sabars in Nimdih Block of Saraikela,
a red corridor district in the State of Jharkhand.
Sabars are considered to be the descendants of Sabari, who first tasted the Bers before
offering them to Lord Ram. These tribes are on the verge of extinction and are classified as the
“poorest among the poor.” Overwhelmed by her dedication to their cause, they call her Maa
and worship her as a Goddess.
Ambalika is reviving
dying traditional crafts
made by tribal artisans
of Jharkhand and
providing them with
sustainable livelihoods.
Fighting Malnutrition
and Preventing Health
Inequalities Worldwide
Dr. Radhika Batra
Every Infant Matters
New Delhi
Dr. Radhika Batra, Founder and President of Every Infant Matters , initiated a
holistic health programme empowering women and promoting deworming,
breastfeeding, immunisation, and dispelling harmful myths. Currently in India,
Kenya, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic, the teams are serving disadvantaged
women and children by providing last mile health solutions.
To prevent irreversible blindness, they distribute Vitamin A to malnourished children
and supplements to pregnant women. Their Covid-19 Task Force helped 33,000
patients to get ventilator beds, admissions, and lifesaving surgeries. They believe
in justice and inclusion, and work towards promoting gender equality.
Timely interventions and cost effective
solutions by Every Infant Matters
prevents children from disease, disablity,
blindness and death. 36 37
Envisioning a World
where Every Woman feels
Empowered, and Every
Child is Healthy
Empowering and
Encouraging Women to
Actively Participate in the
Defence Sector
Dr. Aparna Hegde
ARMMAN
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Priti Patel
Raspian Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
Rajkot, Gujarat
Dr. Aparna Hegde is the founder of ARMMAN, a not for profit organization,
that leverages mHealth technology to create scalable, cost-effective, gender
and equity-sensitive, non-linear solutions to reduce maternal and child
mortality and morbidity in 19 states of India.
Their integrated 360 degree approach uses deep mobile penetration to
work with pregnant women and children aged under 5. They also support
health workers and systems in early identification, referral, and treatment of
risk factors, resulting in improved health outcomes. It has reached 27 million
women and children, and trained 229,000 frontline health workers, with plans
to scale pan-India in the coming 5 years.
Ms Priti Patel is the Chairperson and Managing Director for a Women Centric
Defence Manufacturing Company. Raspian Enterprises was established to
manufacture state of the art Small Arms Weapon Systems and Security &
Defence Products. It caters to the Indian and Global defence requirements
which are unrivalled in reliability, quality and cost efficiency.
She heads a team of experts who work on continuous R&D for product
improvements, mainly focused on indigenization of latest technologies. She
envisions women of India to participate actively in the Defence and the
Security sector.
Managing the largest
mhealth porgramme in
partnership with MoHFW,
ARMMAN is implementing
the Kilkari and the Mobile
Academy.
Raspian Enterprises contributes
substantially to making India a self-reliant
country in arms and armament for women. 38 39
Providing People with an
Emotional Resilience tool
for Mental Health
Handcrafted Silver
Jewellery that Derives
Inspiration from History,
and has a Unique Story
Jo Aggarwal
Touchkin eServices Private Limited (Wysa)
Bangalore, Karnataka
Sayalee Marathe
Aadyaa Originals Pvt. Ltd.
Pune, Maharashtra
Jo Aggarwal launched the chatbot ‘Wysa’ in 2016 after her own struggle
with depression. She realized the power of Cognitive Behavior Training,
a skill to be learnt. The name ‘Wysa’ comes from Eliza, which was the first
such chatbot ever created. Five years and 700 iterations later, Wysa has
helped over 4 million people, most of whom had no other mental health
support.
The hundreds and thousands of stories of transformation that people have
shared after talking to Wysa, have been personally the most meaningful
learning for the team.
Aadyaa is premium, handcrafted silver jewellery brand creating collections
based on history, revival, nature and abstraction. Sayalee Marathe, Founder
of Aadyaa works with artisans to create authentic silver jewellery and make it
available worldwide.
It has been incubated at IIM Bengaluru and is a part of Cornell University’s first
cohort of accelerator programme with Maharashtra. They aim to create well
researched, authentic and handcrafted pure silver creations.
Wysa is giving mental
health support and
transforming lives by
leveraging technology
and establishing one to
one connects.
Tradition, soul and happiness are Aadyaa’s
key pillars, striving to create silver products
inspired by nature and history. 40 41
Inspiring a Billion Lives
with Stories of Hope,
Courage and Initiative
Anuradha Parekh
Vikara Services Pvt. Ltd. (The Better India)
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Anuradha Parekh has influenced millions of Indians to a be part of
the solution rather than remain part of the problem. Her initiative ‘The
Better India’ has provided access to information, awareness and hope
– empowering readers to become changemakers in their own ways.
It shares stories that have positively influenced government policies,
brought farmers out of poverty, helped urban slum schools get funded,
brought water and sanitation in villages, to name a few.
She has challenged the media landscape in the country and changed
the narrative from one of despair and demotivation to one that is
inspiring and action-oriented.
The Better India is changing mindsets
from one that considers itself part of the
problem to one that wants to be a part of
the solution.
Gifting the Coming
Generations a Zero Waste
Future
Victoria Joslin D’Souza
Swachha Eco Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Set up in 2008 by Mrs Victoria Joslin D’Souza, Swachha is on a mission to
make a difference in the ever changing landscape of waste management.
They have an MOU with the Municipal Corporation of Bengaluru (BBMP) to
set-up Karnataka’s First Dry Waste Processing Centre.
This has led to a collection drive of dry waste for more than 54 wards
of Bengaluru for recycling. The team at Swaccha ensures that they never
lose track of the trends, regulations and compliance related to waste
management industry. The have successfully diverted 28,871 tons of waste
from landfill so far.
Swachha promises a
clean,green and sustainable
future for everyone. 42 43
Reimagining Bamboo
Products to Create Rural
Employment
Putting Environment First
and Reimagining Batteries
Akshya Shree
Tad Udyog Pvt. Ltd. (Silpakarman)
Delhi & Tripura
Nimisha Varma
Aloe Ecell Pvt. Ltd.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Akshya Shree has launched two brands, ‘Silpakarman’ and ‘BeYouTea - The
bamboo leaves tea’. Silpakarman provides home and kitchen utility products
handmade by 250+ artisans across 5 clusters in rural Tripura. Each product is
carefully crafted using organic and traditional methods.
‘BeYouTea’, their recently launched flagship product, a patent-pending blend,
creates rural employment. It engages community members who have lost their
jobs and had to come back to their villages due to the pandemic and have no
income opportunities.
Nimisha Varma wears many hats. To solve the problems of e-waste, pollution and
diseases caused by hazardous batteries, Aloe Ecell created the world’s first 100%
eco-friendly and safe 1.5V AA size batteries using Aloe Vera. The product has
been recognized by the Indian government and corporates like Schneider Electric.
In pursuit of Atmanirbhar and Sashakt farmers, Nimisha’s team has innovated
India’s first 100% eco-friendly recycled fertilizer from dead batteries. Aloe Ecell
has also launched Batteries on Blockchain- a battery tracing mechanism to collect
e-waste and promote Swachh Bharat.
In the recent pandemic, they launched a very economical face-shield and a peer-
to-peer educational model (Naya Savera) to help rural India.
Tad Udyog (Silpakarman)
is creating a sustainable rural
economy value chain system
that empowers the communities
in bamboo growing regions
and provides customers
sustainable product alternatives.
Aloe Ecell, World’s First 100% Eco-
Friendly Non Hazardous Battery should
be the solution for all Battery problems. 44 45
Investing in and Up-skilling
of Local Communities to
Create World Class Products
From the Framer’s Heart to
your Plate
Chayaa Nanjappa
Nectar Fresh
Mandya, Karnataka
Roopa Maganti
Greentatwa Agri Tech LLP
Hyderabad, Telangana
Chayaa Nanjappa is a rural social entrepreneur & her brand Nectar Fresh has
been empowering tribals, rural communities and small farmers for the past 13
years. Today, Nectar Fresh is synonymous with the word ‘quality’ & has become
a preferred brand for the quality conscious markets. It has invested in the local
communities, training them to manufacture products of international standards.
As a farm gate processing unit, it has helped numerous farmers avoid the
spoilage of their produce. Chayaa’s initiative of supporting local farmers & local
manufacturers of packaging materials helped them immensely while bringing
down costs for Nectar Fresh.
Greentatwa is a social enterprise that believes natural farming contributes to
sustainability. Roopa Maganti supports rural women agripreneurs by creating
livelihoods at the grassroots level and providing residue-free food to keep her
consumers healthy through their brand ‘Sudhanya”. They connect the three
cornerstones - Farmers, Agriprenuers, and Consumers, and reduce carbon
footprints in the food supply chain through a cluster-based approach.
Giving geotag to their farms through satellite imagery allows them to
understand the soil health, weather and water resources and assist the farmers
in scientific and systematic farming. Greentatva supports rural agriprenuers
engaged in processing grains and producing value-added products, with
quality control, packaging, branding, and market reachability.
Nectar Fresh, a market
leader in quality products, is
creating an enviable presence
through strict adherence to
strong business ethics. They
adhere to their core values of
supporting small farmers and
empowering tribal and rural
communities.
Greentatva envisions fostering a holistic,
sustainable development with symbiosis of 5Ps…
Planet, People, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships. 46 47
“An important attribute of
success is to be yourself. Never
hide what makes you, you.”
- Indra Nooyi 48 49
Tech Platform for Enabling,
Reskilling and Mentoring
Women
Promoting Green Mobility
Amongst the Masses
Tanuja Abburi
Transformation Skills India
Pvt. Ltd. (Beyond Pinks)
Hyderabad, Telangana
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Kinetic Green Energy and Power
Solutions
Pune, Maharashtra
A true pathfinder, Tanuja is known for many noteworthy milestones and
contributions towards developing and nurturing talent. In her current avatar as an
entrepreneur and founder of Transformation Skills India Pvt. Ltd (Beyond Pinks),
she has leveraged her passion and expertise in talent development to provide a
support system for women to sustain their careers, return to their job and flourish
in their careers.
Prioritizing women at the grassroots level, her organization, supported by NITI
Aayog, is a tech-enabled mentoring solution which uses Design Thinking to solve
the D&I challenge. They have mentored over 4000+ women so far and nurtured
critical partnerships with industry bodies like HYSEA and NHRD.
Sulajja set up an e-mobility venture over 5 years ago, when EV technology
was nascent with more disbelievers than supporters. She showed exemplary
vision and courage to enter a new field and successfully turned that dream
into a reality. She invested in developing advanced EV technology, including
indigenous motors, controllers and batteries. Under her leadership, Kinetic
Green has reached 100% localization.
She created advanced yet affordable e-three wheelers and two-wheelers for
the masses - an e-auto for Rs. 1 lakh, aligned with Kinetic’s vision that it’s
vehicles should attract customers without any subsidy. Her company has sold
over 50,000 EVs and created mass employment.
Beyond Pinks, an all-women
organization supports mentoring
women with over 50+ areas of
mentoring and 150+ mentors
from over 60+ blue-chip
organizations. Their vision is to
impact 10,000 lives by 2022
and 1 Lakh lives by 2025.
Kinetic Green is a leading player in
India’s EV sector. It is building a robust
PAN India EV ecosystem to promote
Green Mobility for the Masses. 50 51
Providing Sustainable
Sanitary Health across
India
Providing Unique
Drought Solution by
Reusing Floodwater
Prachi Kaushik
Vyomini Social Enterprise
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Trupti Jain
Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Prachi, a young social activist, founded Vyomini in 2017 to solve social,
economic, and environmental challenges. Vyomini aspires to build a robust
ecosystem that enables women-led entrepreneurship and leadership in
emerging high impact sectors like clean energy, agriculture and nutrition,
health and sanitation.
They are a group of outstanding young women with exceptional leadership
skills, promoting sustainable sanitation hygiene products & entrepreneurship
among underprivileged communities.
Trupti Jain has a distinguished career of working with Non-profits,
institutions promoted by the State Government (Education Department,
Women & Child Development, Urban Development and Rural
Department). Her social enterprise Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd. (NSPL) is
creating gender centric climate change mitigating processes for inclusive
development of urban and rural poor women. NSPL is promoting
‘Bhungroo’, a world bank awarded water irrigation technology.
She is pursuing Zero Hunger, No Poverty, GenderEquality and
Climate Action through Women Climate Leaders for ultra-poor women
smallholders across India, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Africa.
Vyomini believes that
excluded and resource-poor
communities can be revitalized
through economic growth and
social progress if the untapped
potential of grassroots women
entrepreneurs is realized.
Naireeta Services is resurrecting
Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Antodaya,
serving the last person in the queue in the
best possible ways. 52 53
Providing Mental Health
Coaching and Counselling
Making Eco-friendly
Reusables the Mainstream
Choice for Menstrual Hygiene
Richa Singh
YourDOST Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Anju Bist
Amrita SeRVe (Saukhyam Reusable Pad)
Kollam, Kerala
A personal loss of losing a friend to suicide in Richa’s engineering days gave
birth to the idea of building a tech-based anonymous solution. Her company,
YourDOST, is one of India’s largest emotional wellness platforms. Through its
holistic approach, it provides intervention at individual, team, and leadership
levels to create an empathetic and high-performing culture.
The technology platform provides access to 900+ psychologists and coaches
for 1 on 1 counselling, self-help tools, training, assessments etc.
Anju Bist and her team are the first in the world to make reusable menstrual pads
from banana fiber, which comes from agro-waste. Saukhyam Reusable Pads have
won multiple awards and are sold internationally. Their vision is that the same
high-quality pad they export should be made available at very affordable prices
in rural areas of India.
To date, they have sold and distributed over 500,000 pads, helping prevent the
emission of over 2000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually. This has also helped
eliminate an estimated 43,750 tons of non-biodegradable menstrual waste.
YourDOST is on the
mission to build a
happier and healthier
India, one smile to many
more smiles at a time.
Amrita SeRVe is providing high-
quality affordable menstrual pads
made of banana fiber to women
and girls everywhere. 54 55
Equipping Communities to
Create Products from Local,
Green, Eco-friendly Materials
Bridging the Growing
Healthcare Disparity
Payal Nath
Kadam Haat
Kolkata, West Bengal
Romita Ghosh
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd.
Delhi
Payal Nath co-founded Kadam Haat & Kadam Foundation, an upskilling initiative for rural
artisans. Kadam Haat is a handicrafts store for both. The two organizations work in tandem
to skill, create opportunities for, and provide sustainable livelihoods to marginalized
communities in rural India. Using Green,100% eco-friendly local materials like grasses and
Green technology, Kadam has been training and bringing livelihood opportunities directly
to their homes, 85% of them being women.
Making the rural enterprises equal stakeholders in this journey, they are today taking
ownership and inspiring their peers.
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd. is an award-winning MedTech startup that is making
innovative Medical Devices Accessible to end-users across India. Under the
dynamic leadership of Romita Ghosh as the CEO, it supported Delhi Govt. in
combating COVID-19 and assisted in saving 20,000+ lives during the crisis.
They have been strengthening Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat Missions by up-
skilling students, youth and the communities and have already trained over
20k+ enthusiastic individuals. Over the years they have impacted 50k lives
with preventive and supportive healthcare products.
Kadam Haat weaves a
dream where the richness
of rural lives is unleashed,
every pair of hands has
work, technology supports
the communities and their
environment, and every mind
is creatively building Bharat.
iHeal HealthTech is making healthcare
accessibile and affordable a tangible
reality for every Indian. 56 57
Empowering the Next
Generation of Innovators to
Solve Real World Problems
Keeping Plastics in the
Economy and out of the
Environment
Pooja Sharma Goyal
Building Blocks Learning
Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Meha Lahiri
Recity Network Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Building Blocks Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd., has been instrumental in empowering
children and schools to innovate using next generation technology skills. As a
Co-founder, Pooja has been a long-time champion for experiential learning that
inspires children to become problem solvers, builders and makers who are fearless
when it comes to seeking solutions to solve complex real-world problems.
Their kits and courses under the brand name Avishkaar help children between 5-18
years learn critical 21st century skills like Computational Thinking, Mechanical
Design and Design Thinking. They are building a powerful virtual robotics platform
that will enable every child in India to learn these critical technology skills.
Meha Lahiri’s entrepreneurial journey at Recity has not only been about
solving India’s systemic plastic waste challenges in 12+ cities through circular
economy solutions, but also nurturing a gender-neutral and resilient culture
towards building a healthy workforce. Recity has also tirelessly been working
towards professionalization of formal and informal waste workers.
Since inception, over 69% women waste workers have been impacted with
the help of health modules and medical camps, coupled with skill-based and
entrepreneurship trainings, social recognition and government authorized
benefits such as e-shram and occupational IDs.
Team Avishkaar
believes every young
child has an innovator
hidden within them and
they support in creating
the next generation of
innovators.
Recity has been championing
impactful outcomes to ensure
standardization of green supply chains
and robust tech-enabled solutions. 58 59
Empowering Women with
Sustainable, Affordable
and Hygienic Menstrual
Health Solutions
Building Women-led
Social Enterprises
Geeta Solanki
Unipads India Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Neelam Chhiber
Indus Tree Crafts Foundation
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Unipads, founded by Geeta Solanki, is a social business established with a
vision to provide affordable and hygienic menstrual health solutions to women.
Unipads engages them in manufacturing cost effective reusable/washable
cloth sanitary pads and making these available in remote areas.
Their manufacturing allows them to reduce the costs by almost 50% over
standard disposable pads with its lifecycle of 1 year. Direct customer availability
is made by empanelling Women Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE) known as
Kalyanis. Currently they work with 96+ Kalyanis across their network.
Working on the socio-economic transformation of women from the most
vulnerable communities, Neelam Chibber co-founded Indus Tree. Their work
is redefining Indian and global artisanal manufacturing systems as being
pivotal to the next Regenerative Economy. It strategizes an experiential model
to create a self-owned ecosystem for sustainable livelihoods.
This model has tripled artisanal incomes in non-farm occupations by
leveraging their skills and integrating them in the creative sector. Their outreach
has extended to 500,000 lives across India and Africa and built cumulative
markets of 58 Million USD across IKEA, Future Group, FabIndia etc.
Unipads ensures women
have access to affodable
and hygenic menstrual
porducts and supporting
livelihoods by engaging
women level entrepreuners.
Indus Tree envisions a world in which
millions of producers rise out of poverty
by building sustainable livelihoods within
regenerative production practices. 60 61
Adopting Pathbreaking
Teaching and Learning
Approach
Building a Robust
Ecosystem in the Education
and Special Needs Domain
Suchetha Bhat
Dream a Dream
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chahat Vasal
NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Suchetha joined Dream a Dream as a volunteer in 2007. Over the years, she
has driven the scale and strategic direction of the organization. Today, as the
CEO of Dream a Dream, she leads with an unparalleled depth of understanding
of a young person’s journey.
They have helped introduce new holistic curriculums, transform teacher
training/learning practices, change pedagogical approaches to learning,
redesign core curriculum frameworks and inspired the ecosystem to shift
mindsets towards ‘For Every Child, A Thriving Life’ as the core purpose of
education. Dream A Dream has reached over 3 million children in India.
Chahat Vasal co-founded NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a research-driven
technology and product startup in the field of education and special needs.
NerdNerdy’s first-of-its-kind, robust end-to-end technology solution address
the various problems faced by professionals in the special needs sector.
They have developed 300+ indigenous, hands-on intervention tools that assist
professionals in conducting therapy. It has also set up special resource rooms
in 18 Army Public Schools and was a finalist in the National StartUp India
Awards 2021.
Dream a Dream is working
to shift the narrative from an
academics focused education
model to a personalized,
contextualized model. It works
towords ensuring equity, dignity,
and inclusion.
NerdNerdy aims to become an
intelligent knowledge and solution
provider for each stakeholder in the
field of special needs education. 62 63
Craft Architects - Building
Bridges between the Crafts
and Corporate Sectors
Building Assistive-
Technology Innovations to
Empower Visually-Impaired
Mayura Balasubramanian
Craftizen Foundation
Bengalore, Karnataka
Akshita Sachdeva
Trestle Labs Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Mayura has expertise across the entire handicrafts value chain from sourcing,
grassroots capacity building, and design development to improving operational
efficiency and enabling marketing across multiple channels. Her company,
Craftizen, skills disadvantaged sections of society who do not have access to
mainstream income-earning, including adults with intellectual disability and
underprivileged women in urban, rural & tribal areas. They provide support
across the crafts value chain.
Craftizen has developed 250+ unique designs from over 30 different craft
skills, impacting over 2,500 beneficiaries across Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Kolkata and Lucknow. Craftizen has a range of initiatives, including CSR
programmes for craft-based livelihoods, customized merchandise solutions,
workshops and employee engagement.
Akshita Sachdeva, in her company, Trestle Labs, is building assistive technology
solutions that help visually impaired people listen, translate and digitize any
kind of printed, handwritten and digital content across 60+ global languages.
Their flagship innovative product, Kibo comprises of three products - Kibo
mobile app, Kibo XS Device and Kibo Desk web software to cater to the
lifestyle, learning and earning aspects of the users’ life.
Launched in July 2019, their products make schools, colleges, universities,
and workplaces inclusive and empower 65,000+ blind and visually impaired
individuals with enhanced academic and workplace productivity.
Craftizen envisions
preserving and evolving
Indian craft and artisanal
skills so that they remain
an integral part of our
cultural fabric.
Trestle Labs is empowering the visually-
impaired by giving them the right to choose
what they want to access, read and learn,
and when, without being dependent on what
the world can make accessible for them. 64 65
Groundbreaking
Application of Robotics in
Special Education
Carving out Paths, and
Giving them Destinations
Dr. Ramya S Moorthy
Nimaya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Dr. Hina Shah
International Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Career
Development (ICECD)
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Dr Ramya has worked with hundreds of children across the country, providing
learning acceleration by more than 60%. Nimaya Innovations is a culmination of
her expertise and 5 years of research. Nimaya has created a series of IoT based
Robotic Training devices and an end-to-end training programme called Suprayoga
to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other multiple disabilities. It
trains them to acquire Daily Life activities and associated psychomotor skills based
on active learning. Its screening tool GITA is launched in various languages.
Nimaya is on its way to becoming an end-to-end, state-of-the-art platform,
offering screening assessment and training.
With a firm belief that economic empowerment is a powerful tool, Hina Shah
began working on this idea in the year 1983, keeping in mind how socio-
cultural, political, physical and religious fields have a direct impact on the
lives of women. The first programme, termed as Entrepreneurship Development
programme for women, started with only 25 women of Gujarat, whose
businesses are still doing well. This clearly demonstrated the sustainability of
the development approach for achieving women’s economic empowerment.
In 1986, she also started The International Centre for Entrepreneurship and
Career Development (ICECD).Hina’s relentless efforts to change the face
of the deprived, dependent women of rural and tribal India has created a
noteworthy impact.
The women improved their status as they began their little businesses, started
earning, and making profits for a sustainable and independent living. Hina
Shah considers this as a tribute to the humanity and wants to do much more.
“Nimaya” means to “create
a change” in Sanskrit and that
is exactly what they are trying
to do for millions of special
needs children by helping
them progress towards
independent living.
ICECD is building an “Entrepreneurial
Society”, by facilitating access / control
of women on productive resources
leading to social and economic
empowerment. 66 67
Scaling Livelihoods through
Education, Employment
and Entrepreneurship
Magical Hands with
Mystic Colors
Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan
LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Kirti Poonia
Okhai
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Dr Gayatri Vasudevan, Co-founder and Chairperson of LabourNet is a true
visionary. In the year 2021-22, when the pandemic was at its peak, LabourNet
impacted the lives of 18,000 students who were motivated to enroll for short term
courses. 27,000 adolescents benefitted from vocational training programmes,
and 500 students enrolled for B.Voc programme.
There were 19,000 certifications issued under RPL, 3,000 benefitted under
their apprenticeship programme, 2,000 entrepreneurs received trainings and
over 6 lakh people got vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kirti built Okhai, offering handcrafted apparel and lifestyle products created
by rural artisans from across India. Okhai has become India’s largest Direct
to Consumer Apparel & Lifestyle marketplace for artisans to retail directly to
customers.
Under her leadership and guidance, she has scaled the organization from
350 to 27,000 artisans, achieving 10X the revenue in just 6 years.
With a mission to improve
the incomes of individuals
in the informal sector,
LabourNet Services designs
sustainable interventions with
Education, Employability and
Entrepreneurship at the core.
Okhai aims to create livelihood
opportunities for rural women artisans and
protect ancient crafts from dying. 68 69
Realising Sustainable
Social Change through
Public Policy
Towards a Sustainable
Environment and Society
Samina Bano
RightWalk Foundation
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Girija K Bharat
Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Gurugram, Haryana
RightWalk drives equity, inclusion & social justice by co-shaping public
policies, unlocking public funds and making public entitlements accessible
to disadvantaged people. It was founded by Samino Bano, and since its
inception, she has prioritized Social Inclusion. This has remained the hallmark
of RightWalk’s practice.
The team has the knowledge and experience to bring key issues to decision-
makers, committees, state agencies, and communities. It is known for bringing
a mindset shift from exclusion to inclusion in politics, bureaucracy, media,
public and schools.
Founded by Dr. Girija K Bharat, Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd. is working
towards promoting an environmentally conscious society. This is acheived
by improving the quality of life of communities through environment friendly
solutions, drawing knowledge from global best practices and applying this to
the local context.
They conduct research on water and sanitation (rural and urban), waste
management, environmental management, water resource management. This
mission is supported by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA).
RightWalk Foundation is
driving equality, inclusion and
social justice by co-shaping
public policies, unlocking
public funds and making
public rights accessible to
people on the ground.
Mu Gamma Consultants is improving
the quality of life of communities by
offering contextualized environment
friendly solutions, drawing knowledge
from global best practices . 70 71
Reimagining and
Transforming Education for
Communities by Combining
Indigenous Wisdom
Embracing Biological
formulations for
Chemical Free Healthcare
Gitanjali J Angmo
Himalayan Institute of Alternatives
Leh, Ladakh
Puunam G Kaushik
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) is the world’s first doer’s
university, that combines Academics, Research and Entrepreneurship through a
curriculum that is contextual. The pedagogy is experientially conducted through
real-life experience, and the approach is trans-disciplinary, problem solving,
combining indigenous wisdom with modern technology.
As the Co-Founder, CEO & Dean, Gitanjali leads Academic Development that
includes setting up of new schools & centres of excellence, curriculum design &
development. She also facilitates fund-raising and scaling-up of the successful
research pilots into consulting assignments and sustainable & responsible local
enterprises.
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. is a first generation, research driven,
integrated and diversified global biopharma leader. Puunam G Kaushik,
Deputy Managing Director works towards ‘Innovation through Discovery’,
the company today services over 500 customers across 50 industries in
over 90 countries. Today, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals has become a one-
stop solution for all biological requirements across Enzymes, Probiotics,
Nutraceutical, Finished Formulations, and Animal Health Care.
They continuously work towards introducing novel ingredients and formulations
in the Biopharmaceuticals market by innovative research techniques and finest
service & quality standards by strong technical support.
Himalayan institute of
Alternatives is empowering
youth and communities with
a contextualized educational
experience.
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals is
carving its niche through a commitment to
quality & novel biotech solutions for foods
& pharma sector. 72 73
“Giving up was never an option
for me, no matter how hard the
circumstances. Each of us is
fighting our own battles. But as long
as we are determined to remain
steadfast, we will reach our goal.”
- Pabiben Rabari 74 75
Building a Movement
of Leaders to Eliminate
Educational Inequity
Biotech Initiative Aspiring
to Build Entrepreneurial
Skills through a Scientific
Approach
Shaheen Mistri
Teach For India & The
Akanksha Foundation
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Aardra Chandra Mouli
Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.
Trivandrum, Kerala
Shaheen founded Teach For India in 2008 with the audacious vision of providing
an excellent education to all children across India by building a movement of
leaders committed to ending educational inequity in India. Today, Teach For India
impacts 32,000 children through the direct work of over 900 Fellows and 250
staff members across eight cities and has produced over 9,100 student alumni.
Additionally, their Alumni community is 3,800+ members strong, impacting 1
million children directly and reaching 33 million children indirectly.
Aardra is a biotech engineer, entrepreneur and an entrepreneurship researcher.
She is the founder and Managing Director of Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.,
the first fully women-owned environmental biotech company in India. She is
passionate about making science and entrepreneurship accessible to all those
interested in these fields, especially women.
Aardra holds an MRes in management from UCL, an MSc in management from
Warwick Business School, and a Bachelors in biotechnology and biochemical
engineering from the University of Kerala.
Teach For India’s work for
children over three decades
has mobilized thousands of
people to work together for
systemic change in education
Aeka Biochemicals is helping to incorporate
green user friendly options which are effective,
and have a focus on urban cultivation, water
treatment, recycling, remediation or waste
management. A significant contribution towards
reducing “human footprints” on Earth. 76 77
Launching an Advisory,
Earth Observation Data
Analytics and Exploring
New Vistas in Space
Leading Women with
Special Abilities from
Darkness to Light
Dr. Susmita Mohanty
Earth2Orbit
Bengalore, Karnataka
Shalini Khanna Sodhi
NAB India Centre for Blind Women
and Disability Studies
Delhi
Susmita Mohanty is the only space entrepreneur in the world to have started
companies on three different continents: USA, Europe and India. Her Indian
venture Earth2Orbit (E2O) is India’s first space start-up and has helped lead
India’s foray into the nearly $420 billion global space market. E2O played
a pivotal role in opening up the US launch market for the Indian PSLV rocket
despite the 1998 US Embargo and a stringent export control regime.
In 2019, Susmita was selected as one of BBC’s 100 Women laureates inspiring
and influencing a female-led future. In 2017, she was featured on the cover
of Fortune Magazine. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global
Future Council for Space Technologies.
NAB India Centre empowers blind women to realize their dreams of dignified
living and self-reliance by offering professional, market-aligned and skill-based
training and services as a lifelong support and offer financial independence.
Shalini Khanna Sodhi, Founder Director has done pioneering work in
equipping blind girls in skills like Customer Care management, Executive Spa
Therapist, Bakery etc.
Blind Women often face discrimination, and are left out of the mainstream
society, they are also trained in table etiquettes, self-defense, sexual health,
and personal grooming. This helps to bridge the gap and accords them
opportunities for fair inclusion in the society.
Earth2Orbit is leading
India’s foray into the
global space marketplace
by inspiring the new
generation to dream and
reach for the stars.
NAB India Centre aims to make every
invisible blind woman, an invincible force
- driving a paradigm shift in India for
women with disabilities. 78 79
Creating Oppurtunites for
STEM Careers, by Building
Ecosystems
Dr. Darshana Joshi
VigyanShaala International
Almora, Uttrakhand
Dr. Darshana Joshi, Founder and CEO of VigyanShaala is determined to
create equity in STEM education and opportunities for the most marginalized
communities across India. Carefully developed ecosystems can reduce
inequality and uplift the marginalized sections to build careers in STEM. The
organization is building unique ‘Phy-gital’ ecosystems addressing the STEM
opportunity gap by Kalpana - She for STEM. This is a digital mentorship
programme bringing scientific opportunities for women and creating Rural
STEM-champions as part of their fellowship model. As a part of this initiative,
there are physical science labs provided to rural STEM undergraduates
which help them to work on innovative models under full support support and
mentorship.
VigyanShaala has created a knowledge and inspiration pipeline which
connects rural colleges to global Mentors by providing them hands-on
laboratory experience and leadership training.
Creating a better world
through science, the mission of
VigyanShaala is to enable
innovators to achieve their
dreams in STEM careers.
Promoting Sustainable
Development, Empowering
Women’s Collectives
Prema Gopalan
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
Pune, Maharashtra
Prema Gopalan founded Swayam Shikshan Prayog to empower grassroots
women’s networks & communities across Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar
and Odisha states. Her work has empowered 300,000+ rural women as
entrepreneurs and change makers. They are building resilient communities
across 7 climate hit States in India, positively impacting over six million people.
Under her guidance, over 150,000 rural women have been repositioned as
climate adaptive farmers who are also decision makers with land rights and
incomes.
Fulfilling its mission since 1998,
Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP)
is transforming grassroots women from
beneficiaries to decision makers. 80 81
Ensuring After Sales
Tech Support for All Your
Gadgets
Ensuring Knowledge
About Safety is Just a Click
Away
Dhevibala Umamaheswaran
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Megha Bhatia
Our Voix
Delhi
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP is a multibrand gadget care centre, operational since
2012, founded by Dhevibala Umamaheswaran. Today BigFix, is a leader in
providing cost-efficient repair solutions for mobile phones, computer laptops,
desktops & tablets. It connects brands with customers through service partners
to perform aftersales activities and specialize in End-to-End managed services.
They also provide out of warranty support through retail care centre and
e-commerce enabled logistics service delivery models.
Megha Bhatia is the director of Our Voix, a not for-profit organization working
on the prevention of child sexual abuse. Our Voix has been building digital
animated movies and courses to help children and teachers identify abuse and
speak up. The content of Our Voix has benefited 4 Lakh indirect beneficiaries
in 8+ states and 18,000 children directly, also talks about sexual abuse.
She has been selected as one of the top 10 innovators in the field of gender
equality, “Innovations Marketplace for Gender Equality” programme by
Youth Co:Lab.
BigFix Gadget Care
aims to professionalize
the break-fix industry and
identify, up-skill and create
employment opportunities
to certified blue collar
technicians though their
network.
Our Voix’s Child Safety Courses, give
children the right resources to speak up and
stay safe in today’s world. 82 83
Engaging Stakeholders
for Scaling Systemic
Transformation in Education
Envisioning a World
Without Human Trafficking
and Exploitation
Khushboo Awasthi
Mantra Social Services
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Hasina Kharbhih
Impulse NGO Network
Shillong, Meghalaya
Mantra4Change, co-founded by Khushboo Awasthi is a not for profit organization
committed to creating an enriching learning experience for children in public
schools. The team firmly believes that systemic transformation in education is
impossible without collaboration at every level. Their mission is to enable education
leaders to drive sustainable improvements in 1.5 Lac schools by 2025.
Towards this, they design & implement programmes with the Department of School
Education across states, and have orchestrated an ecosystem of like-minded
NGOs in order to scale the idea of systemic transformation.
For 32 years now, Hasina Kharbhih, has been working to provide sustainable
livelihood in a safe environment for 30,000 women in the North Eastern states
of India. What started out as a mission in her home state of Meghalaya, has
today evolved into a global programme that aims to put an end to human
trafficking and exploitation worldwide.
Her work stands on two pillars: the first is Impulse NGO Network which was
conceptualised in 1987 and is a significant force against human trafficking
today. The second pillar is Impulse Social Enterprises which aims to promote
local artisans and create sustainable livelihood and covering more than 7000
artisans in eight North Eastern States.
Mantra is enabling an
enriching learning experience
for children, handholding
the education leaders to
drive continuous school
improvements.
Team Impluse believes human
trafficking can’t be completely stopped
until women at the grassroots becomes
economically self sufficient. 84 85
Ensuring Advancement
of Small and Marginal
Farmers
An Omni-Channel Platform
for New Age Food and
Beverage Brands -
A Win-Win Enterprise
Anita Kumari
Madhopur Farmers Producer
Company Ltd.
Bihar sharif, Bihar
Anju Srivastava
Wingreens Farms Pvt. Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Anita Kumari, an agricultural women entrepreneur by profession, works in
cultivation of mushroom, mushroom span production, beekeeping, horticultural
and cereal crops. She is also well known as ‘Mushroom Lady’, as her production
of mushrooms has won several awards as well.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are agricultural cooperatives that are
emerging as a practical approach towards empowering a great number of
smallholder farmers and ensuring their prosperity. She envisions imparting
training and handholding assistance to FPOs for their development and
evolution into effective enterprises.
Anju has set up a unique socially inclusive business model in the food and
beverage sector. The “WIN” of Wingreens comes from the Women’s Initiative
Network which skills and empowers underprivileged women to make world
class products. Wingreens also has a farming model where it works with
marginal farmers to give them technical knowhow and predictable income.
Their products are sold in over 250 cities in India and the range spans dips,
sauces, mayonnaise, baked chips, wide range of organic products, bakery
premixes and herbs and seasonings.
Madhopur Farmers is
assisting Farmer Producer
Organizations through
entrepreneurial development
for establishing effective
enterprises.
Wingreens is based on a socially
inclusive business model in which the less
privileged sections of society become the
pillars of the organization. 86 87
Providing Personalized
Achievement Journey For
Every Child
Aditi Avasthi
Indiavidual Learning Ltd. (Embibe)
Bangalore, Karnataka
Embibe is the world’s first edtech company that truly delivers learning and life
outcomes. It has put the tech in teaching - leveraging AI and state of the art
pedagogical frameworks to help every child experience true personalization.
Over the last nine years, the founder, Ms. Aditi Avasthi’s commitment to open
access has given Embibe unprecedented data to understand what truly works.
The platform delivers personalized achievement journeys for every learner in
their mother tongue at a price-point accessible to all. Embibe is living by its
motto of - “Every Child Will Achieve”.
Embibe is a movement to
deliver learning and life
outcomes to students. It
also empowers teachers to
be their best.
Using Data Analytics for
Effective Decision Making
Ayushi Mishra
DronaMaps Pvt. Ltd.
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Ayushi Mishra, Chief Operations Officer, DronaMaps leverages traditional
geospatial techniques, integrating them with data coming from Management
Information Systems, drone maps, mobile applications, WhatsApp chatbots
and more. In the end, a layer of intelligent AI/ML analytics is built to enable
the usage of select data points for effective decision making.
The system relies on creating data interoperability in siloed data sets, thereby,
creating long term savings on cost.
DronaMaps democratises
access to mapping and supports
accurate decision making using
refined analytics. 88 89
Building a Pathway to
Self-Sufficiency and
Financial Security
Increasing Productivity and
Profits through Customized
Irrigation Solutions for
Farmers
Chetna Gala Sinha
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Dr. Swapna Priya K
Farms2fork Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Chetna is a social activist associated with the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari
Bank. Her contribution has been instrumental in setting up the first women
pension fund in partnership with the Unit Trust of India for rural women micro-
entrepreneurs in India.
The bank has also set up the first cash credit product for rural women in weekly
markets. They aim to reach one million women by 2024 by nurturing an
ecosystem within which they can thrive.
Dr Swapna Priya K is the Chief Operating Officer of an Agri tech company
Farms2fork Technologies. She aims to build a low cost irrigation advisory model
leveraging on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning combining on-
ground sensors, satellite and weather data to detect low soil moisture and alert
the farmers at a very low cost.
Their mission is to help Paddy, Sugarcane, Cotton, Grape, Pomegranate and
Banana growing farmers to increase profit by upto 30% and save water by
50% with their customized irrigation solution powered by AI and Internet of
Things (IoT).
Mann Deshi Mahila
Sahakari Bank’s vision
is to create a supportive
environment where women
micro-entrepreneurs can
successfully flourish and be
valued by all.
Farms2fork is using artificial intelligence
and machine learning to increase farm
productivity. 90 91
Building a One Stop Shop
for Dairy Farmers
Transitioning India to
Create a Type 2 Diabetes
Free World
Neetu Yadav
Animall Technologies Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Swati Pandey
Arboreal Bioinnovations Pvt. Ltd.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Co-founder of Animall Technologies Ltd., Neetu Yadav, ensures that her platform
primarily focuses on building a peer-to-peer cattle trading platform. Their journey
has been very encouraging and promising - they have reached more than 8 million
dairy farmers within a short span of 2 years. In the next 5 years, Animall aims to
create digital solutions in financing, insurance, healthcare and all dairy farming
needs of India’s dairy farmers.
Under the leadership of Swati Pandey, Arboreal Bioinnovations are proud
to be recognized for their groundbreaking efforts in transitioning India to
the Post Sugar World. Their team is driven by the vision of creating a Type-2
diabetes-free world in their lifetime. Arboreal combines advanced scientific
R&D with traceable, scalable and sustainable supply chain of Stevia to deliver
great-tasting applications that are loved and desired by calorie-conscious
consumers.
Their core team comprises of professionals with over 200 years of collective
experience in Phytoceuticals and Natural Extracts.
Animall’s mission is to
build efficiencies in the
dairy ecosystem in India
using technology, data
science, and design.
Arboreal combines
advanced scientific R&D
with traceable, scalable
and sustainable supply
chai. 92 93
For Trash Free, Rash Free
and Shame Free Periods
Using Age Old Ayurveda
Knowledge to Create Niche
World Class Products
Malini Parmar
Rekke Personal Care Pvt. Ltd.
(Stonesoup.in)
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Mira Kulkarni
Forest Essentials
Delhi
Malini Parmar, Ex-IT professional considers herself an accidental activist
turned social entrepreneur. Stonesoup is a sustainable menstrual hygiene
product company that also promotes other sustainable living products.
Collectively Stonesoup has diverted more than 12 million disposable sanitary
pads from landfill and created 100+ evangelists (Saathis) and 250+ producers
pan India. Impacting positively women’s health, environment and creating
employment for women.
Hailing from the Ayurvedic hub in India, Mira Kulkarni used her knowledge
and experience to establish Forest Essentials. She was introduced to Ayurveda
early in life and worked with Vaids (Ayurveda specialists) for many years to
learn formulations before launching the brand in 2000.
Her knowledge of natural ingredients and time-tested formulas with her passion
for creating high-quality Indian products that keep the inherent properties of
Ayurveda ingredients intact, led to the success of the brand.
Stonesoup wants
municipalities to have
zero sanitary waste and
women to experience
happy periods.
Forest Essentials is the quintessential
Indian Beauty Brand that uses age-
old wisdom and extensive research to
make premium products available to its
customers. 94 95
Facilitating Lifestyle
Behavioural Changes
through Healthy Coaching
with a Wellness Lens
Crafting an Inclusive
World for Artisans as
Co-owners, Co-creators
and Co-travellers
Preeti Rao
Weljii
Delhi
Sumita Ghose
Rangsutra Crafts India
Bikaner, Rajasthan
Preeti Rao’s focus at Weljii is to provide evidenced based Health and Wellness
Coaching Services and Education that foster prevention and management of
lifestyle diseases from a 360 degree perspective for organizations, individuals
and professionals.
Her organization Weljii, offers programs on weight-loss, fitness, sleep, smoking
cessation, alcohol de-addiction, stress, anxiety, diabetes, heart health, and
much more! They also offer Certification and Training Programmes, giving
a chance to aspiring professionals to become certified Health & Wellness
Coaches.
Sumita Ghose is the Founder and MD of Rangsutra, a community owned social
enterprise with over 2000+ artisans as shareholders. The goal is to ensure
sustainable livelihoods for rural artisans, 80% of whom are women. Their
artisans are also co-owners, co-creators, managers and board members.
They believe that traditional handicrafts and textiles can be a source of regular
livelihood and value creation for rural artisans.
Weljii inspires,
motivates, facilitates
people to live a life of
optimum health and
wellbeing.
Rangsutra is a bridge between
artisans and customers, between
rural and urban and between
change and continuity. 96 97
Towards a Pain Free Life
where Interventions Focus
on Your Feet
Revolutionizing Access to
Instant and Secure Data
Trishla Surana
Colour Me Mad Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Rajoshi Ghosh
Hasura
Bangalore, Karnataka
Trishla, Managing Director of Your Foot Doctor addresses the really important
issue of mobility and pain free life for the mass population who suffer due to
Flat Feet and other foot related pain. It is a start-up that cares for your feet and
is focused on providing foot care solutions using innovation, technology and
human touch.
It has benefited thousands of customers by delivering pain relief footwear and
insoles, both off the shelf and customized as per their foot condition.
Hasura is an open source product that accelerates data access, by
providing GraphQL or REST APIs with built in authorization on your data,
instantly., Rajoshi is the co-founder of Hasura, which is the first open-
source unicorn startup in India, and she is also the first woman founder of
a unicorn startup in India.
Hasura is one of the fastest growing open source projects in this space and
has been downloaded over 450 million times by developers globally.
Hasura enables developers to get an API to access data instantly so that
they can build mission critical applications rapidly.
Foot is the foundation of our
body and Colour Me Mad
firmly believes that wearing
the right support and foot
care is the key to mobility
and good health!
Hasura is on a mission to make data access
fast, secure & scalable. Envisioning a world
where developers are enabled to build
applications at the speed of thought. 98 99
Giving A Life of Purpose
to the Specially Abled by
Building their Functional
Abilities
Fostering an Ecosystem for
Persons with Special Abilities
to Lead a Dignified Life
Sugandha Sukrutaraj
AMBA
Bangalore, Karnataka
Shanti Raghavan
EnAble India
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Ashoka Fellow, Sugandha Sukrutaraj founded a social enterprise, AMBA. It
focuses on changing paradigms/mindsets about adults with Moderate/Severe
Intellectual Disabilities, while discovering infinite functional possibilities. They are
building an ecosystem to build, operate and sustain training and employment
within 475 ACPCs (AMBA Certified Partner Centres).
They are working towards building an ecosystem of learning and earning for
these individuals using Information Technology, giving them the dignity and
independence that they deserve.
EnAble India (EI) a non-profit organization started by Shanti Raghavan. They are
working on the ground for the last 2 decades and impacting thousands of persons
with disability (PwDs). Their vision is a world where persons with disability are tax
payers, active citizens and nation builders.
EI is on a mission to build a sustainable Livelihood Ecosystem for millions of PwDs to
attain a dignified life while having a positive impact on the economy and society. This
will lead to a paradigm shift where PwDs are leading to a shift in the consciousness of
the society.
AMBA works to maximize
potential of community of
adults with moderate to
severe intellectual disability
across India by economically
empowering them.
EnAble India is ambitious
for the cause of economic
independence and dignity for
persons with disability. 100 101
Digitising Fashion Products
by Driving Excellence in
Manufacturing
Suchi Mukherjee
LimeRoad
Gurgaon, Haryana
Suchi Mukherjee has built a unique platform, LimeRoad with best in class
fundamentals. They aim to create access to digital fashion for everyone. So
far, LimeRoad has served over 16 million customers.
This is a team of survivors who have focused on driving excellence; it is the
only team from the 2010-2014 cohort of fashion commerce companies, who
cumulatively raised over 10,000 crores.
LimeRoad wants to
digitize fashion worth Rs.
400,000 crores, enabling
next 100 million users
through creation of an
unparalleled ecosystem. 102 103
KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS
EDITORIAL TEAM @ CKDEVALUATION TEAM @ GRANT THORNTONDESIGN TEAM @ IPE GLOBAL
SHILPI JAIN
Lead - Corporate Communication
SUDHI JAIN
Associate Director
SEEMA GUPTA
Advisor
VIKAS GAMBHIR
Executive Director
SAPNA SUBBA
Assistant Manager
SAHIL KUMAR
Consultant
SUKRITI JAIN
Manager
CHIRAG SINGLA
Assistant Manager
ARADHANA MATHUR
Communication Officer
PALLAVI DUGGAL
Deputy Manager 104 105
SPONSORS
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
INDIA 106 107 108
In partnership with
Empowering women & girls to realise their full potential
Designed by IPE Global As we celebrate 75 years of India’s independence we note the strides taken by our country towards freedom - from unemployment, illiteracy, poverty,
lack of opportunities and most importantly an unfair and inequitable society.
As NITI Aayog and as citizens it is our moral, social and constitutional responsibility to ensure the women of our country progress, by providing them
with equal rights and opportunities. Since 2018, Women Entrepreneurship Platform has been such an endeavor - pushing the needle towards a more
equitable society. The platform addresses informational asymmetry and opportunity inequities within the entrepreneurial ecosystem to propel women
entrepreneurs building India.
As we celebrate Amrit Mahotsav observing 75 years of independence, we are also aware that the ocean of opportunities open to today’s women would
have not been possible without the struggles of our female heroes of yesteryears. And so, this year Women Entrepreneurship Platform in the fifth edition
of the Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards is saluting 75 strong women of our country who are building
‘Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat’ – via self-
sufficient businesses and/or overcoming challenges through unique business solutions.
I congratulate all the awardees and I am extremely grateful to our ecosystem partners who have helped empower these courageous women to take their
dreams to the next level. I would also complement the NITI Aayog team led by Anna Roy in making WEP and WTI Awards such great success. I wish
them all the best.
Mr. Amitabh Kant
CEO, NITI Aayog
Ms. Anna Roy
Senior Adviser, NITI Aayog
Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest sons of India, quoted that, “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is
improved, It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.”
Women are the backbone of society and have always played a positive role in shaping our society. Women entrepreneurs in particular, represent a
substantial proportion of India’s economy and yet the societal and systemic barriers are disproportionately skewed against them.
NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform is a unique public-private partnership initiative where individuals collaborate and help scale up the efforts
towards empowering women by promoting entrepreneurship. The low women entrepreneurship rates are part of a broader gender gap in economic
participation and opportunity. Thus, it is crucial to encourage women to use their acquired skills by joining the workforce. Mentorship and skilling programmes
of WEP shall equip entrepreneurs to level the field. Sharing their success stories in social and traditional media provides inspiration and proof that business
can be a woman’s world, too, and therefore strengthen the confidence of younger female entrepreneurs. Community module of WEP connects not required
the women entrepreneurs and provides a seamless platform for networking and building sisterhood.
As India celebrates its 75 years of existence as an independent nation, WEP celebrates 75 female stalwarts who have enabled
Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat.
Our small efforts towards building a conducive ecosystem stand re-affirmed as these women stand tall representing the new India - the bold India.
Jai Hind!
FOREWORD MESSAGE SEARCH & SELECT COMMITTEE
ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA
ROOPA KUDVA
DEBJANI GHOSH
SHOMBI SHARP
RONNIE SCREWVALA
Chairperson & Chief Executive Officer - Salesforce, India
Managing Partner - Omidyar Network India
President - NASSCOM
UN Resident Coordinator for India
First-Generation Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Opinion leader & Author
Arundhati Bhattacharya oversees the growth strategy of Salesforce, India and plays an integral role in defining Salesforce’s
relationship within its ecosystem. Prior to Salesforce, Arundhati was the first woman chairperson at the State Bank of India, credited with
ushering in the digital transformation era. With 40+ years of rich experience in the financial sector, Arundhati has earned a string of
accolades to her name; most notably - “The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes, “Top 50 globally most powerful women in
business” and “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders” list by Fortune.
Roopa leads Omidyar Network India and is responsible for overall strategy, investments, operations and portfolio development. She
spent 23 years with CRISIL, and was its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. In 2020, she led CRISIL’s transformation from
being India’s premier ratings agency into a diversified global analytical company. Roopa is regularly featured in the media as a prominent
woman leader of corporate India. She has served as a member of several policy-level committees relating to the Indian financial system,
and has been on several government, regulatory and policy committees and industry associations.
Debjani Ghosh is the President of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM). A veteran of the technology
industry, a staunch champion of inclusion in corporate India, Debjani is a firm believer in the power of technology as the greatest equalizer.
Debjani has been honored in 2018 by the President of India under the auspices of the ‘First Ladies’ programme and, Vogue declared her
as the Tech Leader of the year 2020. Recognizing her contribution to technology, she was also facilitated in ‘40 over 40 - World’s Most
Inspiring Women’ list by Female One Zero (F10) Magazine in 2022.
Mr Shombi Sharp, a national of the United States of America, is the UN Resident Coordinator for India since November 2021and has
devoted more than 25 yrs of his career to promoting inclusive and sustainable development internationally. He most recently served as
United Nations Resident Coordinator in Armenia, after holding several leadership positions at the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) in various capacities across Armenia, Georgia, Lebanon, Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States in the Russian Federation,
and New York. He is a published author of works in health economics and was a United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) “Policy Champion” as well as a nominee for the UNDP Administrator’s Award.Ronnie first pioneered Cable TV for all of India and went on to build one of the largest toothbrush operations in India. He established a big
media and entertainment company – UTV. Newsweek termed him the Jack Warner of India, Esquire rated him one of the 75 most influential
people of the 21
st
century and Fortune tagged him as Asia’s 25 most powerful. He is an author of two books: ‘Dream With Your Eyes Open’
and ‘Skill It, Kill It’ and the Co-Founder & Chairman of upGrad which zeroes in on the massive Online Education market. Through his Swades
Foundation, he has committed to empower one million lives in rural India. JURY MEMBERS
Aarti Mohan
Co-Founder & Partner, Sattva
Dr. Ayesha Chaudhary
Officer on Special Duty,
PSA’s Office
Arpita Agarwal
Chief of Staff to India President
and MD, Dell Technologies
Harjinder Kaur Talwar
MD & CEO, Comvision
India Pvt. Ltd.
Abhishek Chaudhary
Vice President- Corporate
Affairs, NICDC
Dr. Rohini Shrivatsa
National Technology
Officer, Microsoft
Arun Chawla
Director-General, FICCI
Harish Krishnan
Managing Director & Chief Policy
Officer Cisco Systems, India &
SAARC
Abhishek Sinha
Co-Founder and CEO, Eko India
Financial Services Pvt. Ltd.
Dr. Sarayu Natarajan
Founder, Aapti
Ashwajit Singh
Founder & Managing
Director, IPE Global
Himanshu Sikka
Chief Strategy and Diversification
Officer & Practice Lead –
Health,Nutrition and WASH,
IPE Global
Aniket Doegar
CEO, Haqdarshak
Dr. Shanta Thoutam
CIO, Telangana State
Innovation Cell
Bhawna Arora
Founder, KAB Welfare Foundation
Jyotsna Silting
Principal Chief
Conservator of Forest
Arnab Kumar
Former India Director of Fintech Strategy
and Investments for Prosus
(Naspers Group)
Gaurav Jai Gupta
Founder and Creative
Director - Akaaro
Desh Gaurav Sekhri
Co-founder, Sports and Society
Accelerator
Jyoti Vij
Deputy Secretary General,
FICCI Kanishka
Head – Service Lines, India/South Asia,
WWPS Amazon
Rajiv Aggarwal
Director & Head of Public
Policy, India at Meta
Percy Bell
Minister-Counsellor
Treasury, New Delhi
Susan Ferguson
Country Representative UN
Women Office for India
Mamta Kohli
Senior Social Development Adviser
with Foreign, Commonwealth &
Development Office
Kawaljit Singh Oberoi
Corporation Bank, Partner KS
Oberoi & Co.
Ramesh Abhishek
IAS (Retired)
Prashant Tandon
Co-Founder, 1MG
Technologies Pvt.Ltd.
Tauseef Ahmad Mirza
Chairman & Managing Director,
Mirza International Ltd.
Manu Shukla
Head, Government Transformation
–India & South Asia
Sharad Sharma
Co-Founder, iSPIRT Foundation
Krishna Sarma
Managing Partner,
Corporate Law Group
Sanjiv Gupta
COO, Penguin Randomhouse
Raghavendra Singh
President - Group Public Affairs &
Government Business at
Kotak Mahindra Bank
Ullas Marar
Deputy Head of Project, GIZ
Mukesh Mohan Gupta
President, Chamber of Indian Micro
Small & Medium Enterprises
Shivani Malik
Director, Da Milano
Lakshmi Puri
Former Assistant Secretary General,
United Nations
Saurabh Bajpai
Deputy General Manager, SIDBI
Rahul Matthan
Technology Head & Partner, Trilegal
Yogesh D. Brahmankar
CEO, SCIE
Nidhi Hola
Country Marketing director, Dell
Shriya Sethi
Country Director, Uchicago/IIC
Parnal Vats
Manager Government Engagement
and Policy Response, PayPal
Simmi Dhamija
Chief Transformation Officer,
Tech Mahindra 13
NITI AAYOG - WEP TEAM
ANNA ROY
Senior Adviser
SABYASACHI UPADHYAY
Associate
PREETI SYAL
Senior Specialist
LIANKHANKHUP GUITE
Research Officer
SUMITA SONI
Young Professional
INDRANI DASGUPTA
Communication Lead
SAURABH THUKRAL
Senior Specialist
SALONI SACHDEVA
Young Professional 14 15 TABLE OF CONTENTS
NISHA JAIN GROVER
Vatsalya Legacy Educational
Society
SUPRIYA PAUL
Josh Talks
SUCHITRA SINHA
Ambalika
AKSHYA SHREE
Tad Udyog Pvt. Ltd.
(Silpakarman)
VIDYA SUBRAMANIAN
Vidya Subramanian Academy
JO AGGARWAL
Touchkin eServices Private
Limited (Wysa)
TANUJA ABBURI
Transformation Skills India Pvt. Ltd.
(Beyond Pinks)
TRUPTI JAIN
Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd.
ROMITA GHOSH
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd.
ALINA ALAM
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
VIJAYA SWITHA
Chitrika
DR. RADHIKA BATRA
Every Infant Matters
NIMISHA VARMA
Aloe Ecell Pvt. Ltd.
HARDIKA SHAH
Kinara Capital
SAYALEE MARATHE
Aadyaa Originals Pvt. Ltd.
SULAJJA FIRODIA MOTWANI
Kinetic Green Energy and Power
Solutions
RICHA SINGH
YourDOST Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
POOJA SHARMA GOYAL
Building Blocks Learning
Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
GAURI GOPAL AGRAWAL
Skilled Samaritan Foundation
(Sirohi)
ANU ACHARYA
Mapmygenome India Ltd.
DR. APARNA HEGDE
ARMMAN
CHAYAA NANJAPPA
Nectar Fresh
DIPA CHAURE
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat
(Rural Mart)
VICTORIA JOSLIN D’SOUZA
Swachha Eco Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
PRACHI KAUSHIK
Vyomini Social Enterprise
ANJU BIST
Amrita SeRVe (Saukhyam
Reusable Pad)
MEHA LAHIRI
Recity Network Pvt. Ltd.
NEHA SATAK
Astrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
SAVITA GARG
Eclassopedia
PRITI PATEL
Raspian Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
ROOPA MAGANTI
Greentatwa Agri Tech LLP
ADITI BHUTIA MADAN
BluePine Foods Pvt. Ltd.
ANURADHA PAREKH
Vikara Services Pvt. Ltd.
(The Better India)
PAYAL NATH
Kadam Haat
GEETA SOLANKI
Unipads India Pvt. Ltd.
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5458 NEELAM CHHIBER
Vatsalya Legacy Educational
Society
AKSHITA SACHDEVA
Trestle Labs Pvt. Ltd.
KIRTI POONIA
Okhai
PUUNAM G KAUSHIK
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals
Pvt. Ltd.
SHALINI KHANNA SODHI
NAB India Centre for Blind
Women and Disability Studies
MEGHA BHATIA
Our Voix
ANJU SRIVASTAVA
Wingreens Farms Pvt. Ltd.
MIRA KULKARNI
Forest Essentials
DR. SWAPNA PRIYA K
Farms2fork Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
RAJOSHI GHOSH
Hasura
SUCHETHA BHAT
Dream a Dream
DR. RAMYA S MOORTHY
Nimaya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
SAMINA BANO
RightWalk Foundation
SHAHEEN MISTRI
Teach For India
DR. DARSHANA JOSHI
VigyanShaala International
KHUSHBOO AWASTHI
Mantra Social Services
ADITI AVASTHI
Indiavidual Learning Ltd.
(Embibe)
PREETI RAO
Weljii
NEETU YADAV
Animall Technologies Ltd.
SUGANDHA SUKRUTARAJ
AMBA
CHAHAT VASAL
NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
DR. HINA SHAH
International Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Career
Development (ICECD)
DR. GIRIJA K BHARAT
Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
AARDRA CHANDRA MOULI
Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.
PREMA GOPALAN
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
HASINA KHARBHIH
Impulse NGO Network
AYUSHI MISHRA
DronaMaps Pvt. Ltd.
SUMITA GHOSE
Rangsutra Crafts India
SWATI PANDEY
Arboreal Bioinnovations Pvt. Ltd.
SHANTI RAGHAVAN
EnAble India
MAYURA BALASUBRAMANIAN
Craftizen Foundation
DR. GAYATHRI VASUDEVAN
LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd.
GITANJALI J ANGMO
Himalayan institute of Alternatives
DR. SUSMITA MOHANTY
Earth2Orbit
DHEVIBALA UMAMAHESWARAN
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP
ANITA KUMARI
Madhopur Farmers Producer
Company Ltd.
CHETNA GALA SINHA
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
TRISHLA SURANA
Colour Me Mad Pvt. Ltd.
MALINI PARMAR
Rekke Personal Care Pvt. Ltd.
(Stonesoup.in)
SUCHI MUKHERJEE
LimeRoad
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STORIES OF
WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
CONTRIBUTING IN
MAKING A SASHAKT AUR
SAMARTH BHARAT 22 23
Nurturing Children to
Reach their Full Potential
Mitti Cafe- An Inclusion
in Every Served Meal
Nisha Jain Grover
Vatsalya Legacy Educational Society
Jaipur, Rajasthan
Alina Alam
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Vatsalya legacy was born out of a commitment of the Founder Director
Nisha Jain Grover, to offer individual Educational Programme for
students. It is the only organization in India which offers all three pillars of
counselling, training, and remedial education under one roof.
Nisha prioritises the most sensitive children, including their rights, child
safety issues and inclusive education. The team at Vatsalya truly believes
that inclusiveness and equality are the only two ways for a better India.
Mitti Café is a chain of cafes that provide experiential training and
employment to adults with physical, intellectual and psychiatric
disability. It was founded by Alina Alam, as an outreach initiative
to create awareness about inclusivity and disability rights.
With over 16 cafes all over India, hundreds of adults with special
needs have been served over 5 million meals in a span of four
years. They are enabling and empowering people with special
abilities; by making them economically independent, confident,
and providing a life of dignity.
Vatsalya aims for an
inclusive and literate India
and works towards creating
an atmosphere free from
discrimination, for all
children.
Mitti Café is harnessing the abundant
potential of persons with special abilities by
engaging them in productive activities. 24 25
Creating Sustainable
Livelihood Opportunities
for Women Artisans
Innovative Technological
Solutions Transforming
Telecom Infrastructure
Gauri Gopal Agrawal
Skilled Samaritan Foundation (Sirohi)
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
Neha Satak
Astrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Sirohi is India’s first sustainable, unique, home and furniture brand. Gauri,
Founder and Director of Skilled Samaritan Foundation (Sirohi), started the
enterprise, with an aim to engage and empower women from the marginalized
communities with no formal education. This initiative creatively integrates
technology with design and trains women to make well-designed functional
home & lifestyle products, and secures them with financial independence.
Gauri, a young entrepreneur, proudly states that Sirohi, has till now impacted
more than 15,000 women and families in Northern India. It is on a mission to
become a trailblazer in its efforts to economically empower women of rural
India.
Neha Satak is a serial entrepreneur and a researcher who wants
to beam the internet from space using satellites that carry Astrome
transponders. Her deep-tech startup is accelerating the deployment of
5G and backhaul telecommunication infrastructure through its patented
millimetre wave E-band radios and satellite communication products.
Astrome has received multiple awards for its impact on Telecom
infrastructure in India and the global markets. It is an example of not
required research and corporate worlds coming together to support
entrepreneurs.
Sirohi aspires to be a global
brand for sustainable home and
lifestyle products, promising
uniqueness to each product
which weaves a beautiful story.
Incubated at India’s premier R&D school,
the Indian Institute of Science, Astrome is
supported by organizations like CISCO,
Analog Devices and IESA. 26 27
Inspiring, Informing,
Upskilling India in 10
Vernacular Languages
Women Artisans Build
Entrepreneurial Skills
through Collective Gain
Supriya Paul
Josh Talks
Gurugram, Haryana
Vijaya Switha
Chitrika
Hyderabad, Telangana
Supriya Paul is the CEO & Co-Founder of Josh Talks, India’s largest regional
content and upskilling platform. It is creating an ecosystem to inspire, inform,
upskill and create employment opportunities for the youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3
cities in India.
Available in 10 languages on YouTube, the content garners more than 70
Million views on a monthly basis. Their unique sndroid application - Josh Skills,
which has which has over 2 million downloads, helps youth to overcome
their hesitation of conversing in English. They continue to develop tools that
effectively nurture each individual’s potential.
Vijaya Switha initiated Chitrika to work with artisan communities in Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana, incubating women-owned and managed collectives. Their core
mission is to work with artisans to co-create sustainable and successful business
enterprises that are owned & operated by the artisans themselves.
They enable artisans to form collectives that increase their income levels, manage
market engagements, and build & hone their business skills.
Josh Talks is unlocking
human potential by
building a physical and
digital infrastructure
designed for youth.
Chitrika pioneers in using technology,
management, skilling and design
diversity to augment incomes of artisans. 28 29
Providing Insights into
Genetics for Improved
Health & Well-being
A Unique and Personalized
Approach to Teaching
Anu Acharya
Mapmygenome India Ltd.
Hyderabad, Telangana
Savita Garg
Eclassopedia
New Delhi
Mapmygenome™ is a molecular diagnostics company which encourages
people to be proactive about their health. They provide insights about our
health by combining genetic report and health history that include traits, drug
responses, inherited conditions and diseases.
Anu Acharya, Founder and CEO, Mapmygenome India Ltd., aims to provide
personalized healthcare to 100+ million people worldwide using genomics
and save at least 1 million lives by the year 2030. Their patent service,
Genomepatri™ is a comprehensive assessment of genetic risk for lifestyle
diseases, predisposition to traits, carrier status and drug responses. It is your
unique health profile, which they focus on.
Savita Garg, Founder, Eclassopedia, built on an online tutoring
platform to enable live and interactive learning between a tutor & a
student. The platform aims to provide world-class education to students
irrespective of their location. It is an innovative approach to teaching,
thereby helping students to connect with the subject matter that they
need to pursue.
Through personalized and focused teaching processes, the students
develop the tools they need for ongoing success in their respective
fields of study.
By combining genetic
report and health history
with genetic counseling,
Mapmygenome™
provides actionable steps for
individuals towards a
healthy living.
Eclassopedia is providing personalized
experience through audio and video aids
to enhance quality and innovative learning
for students. 30 31
Promoting India’s Art,
Culture and Heritage to
a Global Platform
Envisioning a Financially
Inclusive World where
every Entrepreneur has
Equal Access to Capital
Vidya Subramanian
Vidya Subramanian Academy
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Hardika Shah
Kinara Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Vidya Subramanian’s dedicated work in online teaching of Carnatic music
and other traditional Indian arts has helped empower nearly a hundred
women artists & teachers through work-from-home opportunities. Vidya
Subramanian Academy facilitates customized, one-on-one learning
sessions in the online environment.
It currently has a growing student body of 1500+ and is run on a sustainable,
social entrepreneurship model. Students and teachers come from diverse
backgrounds and includes learners with special needs. Free video lessons
and podcasts have benefitted several thousands of music lovers.
Hardika Shah turned her vision of supporting underserved entrepreneurs by
launching Kinara Capital to disrupt small business lending in India. Under her
vision and leadership, Kinara is advancing financial inclusion in the MSME
sector. It has led to an impact of INR 700 crores in incremental income
generation and supported 250,000+ jobs in local economies.
With AI/ML data-driven credit decision, it offers collateral-free business loans
to MSMEs. Their flagship “myKinara” app promises 24-hour disbursements
while “HerVikas” programme provides an automatic discount to women
entrepreneurs.
Vidya Subramanian is
taking Carnatic music and
other traditional Indian arts
to a global forum, while
empowering women artists
through creation of work
from home opportunities.
Giving fast and flexible loans without
collaterals to small business entrepreneurs
in India, Kinara Capital transforms lives,
livelihoods and local economies. 32 33
Rural Mart - A Sustainable
Marketplace for Quality
Products
Where Food in the Form
of Dumplings is Served
with Love and Simplicity
Dipa Chaure
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat (Rural Mart)
Nagpur, MaharashtraAditi Bhutia Madan
BluePine Foods Pvt. Ltd.
Faridabad, Haryana
Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat, has made a name for itself in India. Dipa Chaure’s efforts
have shown immense success and contributed to a Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat. They provide
livelihoods and engage women from Self Help Groups (SHGs) in local rural areas to produce
high quality value products.
They are currently facilitating 350-500 women in Nagpur district through employment,
product manufacturing, marketing, selling, financing and training services. Their vision is to
reach all women in need, in Maharashtra.
BluePine Foods started with a mission of providing society with high
quality authentic cuisines based on traditional recipes handed down
from families.
Aditi Bhutia Madan, Founder and Director, promotes sustainability by
converting wide range of agro produce into momos and dumplings.
They believe in making their products with utmost love and using
no preservatives. Their vision is to enable and empower individuals
in transforming societies by serving them convenient food, and
establishing a feeling of reliability and simplicity. Blue Pine Foods was
also featured in the latest reality show - Shark Tank India.
Rural Mart is
Empowering women to
take collective decisions in
their interest and providing
them a platform for
financial stability.
By Providing healthy authentic everyday
meals, BluePine Foods envisions to be
a part of every household in India. 34 35
Revival, Development and
Promotion of Languishing Crafts
Suchitra Sinha
Ambalika
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Mrs. Suchitra Sinha has been working tirelessly for last 25 years for the revival, development
and promotion of languishing tribal crafts made by the Sabars in Nimdih Block of Saraikela,
a red corridor district in the State of Jharkhand.
Sabars are considered to be the descendants of Sabari, who first tasted the Bers before
offering them to Lord Ram. These tribes are on the verge of extinction and are classified as the
“poorest among the poor.” Overwhelmed by her dedication to their cause, they call her Maa
and worship her as a Goddess.
Ambalika is reviving
dying traditional crafts
made by tribal artisans
of Jharkhand and
providing them with
sustainable livelihoods.
Fighting Malnutrition
and Preventing Health
Inequalities Worldwide
Dr. Radhika Batra
Every Infant Matters
New Delhi
Dr. Radhika Batra, Founder and President of Every Infant Matters , initiated a
holistic health programme empowering women and promoting deworming,
breastfeeding, immunisation, and dispelling harmful myths. Currently in India,
Kenya, Nigeria and the Dominican Republic, the teams are serving disadvantaged
women and children by providing last mile health solutions.
To prevent irreversible blindness, they distribute Vitamin A to malnourished children
and supplements to pregnant women. Their Covid-19 Task Force helped 33,000
patients to get ventilator beds, admissions, and lifesaving surgeries. They believe
in justice and inclusion, and work towards promoting gender equality.
Timely interventions and cost effective
solutions by Every Infant Matters
prevents children from disease, disablity,
blindness and death. 36 37
Envisioning a World
where Every Woman feels
Empowered, and Every
Child is Healthy
Empowering and
Encouraging Women to
Actively Participate in the
Defence Sector
Dr. Aparna Hegde
ARMMAN
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Priti Patel
Raspian Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.
Rajkot, Gujarat
Dr. Aparna Hegde is the founder of ARMMAN, a not for profit organization,
that leverages mHealth technology to create scalable, cost-effective, gender
and equity-sensitive, non-linear solutions to reduce maternal and child
mortality and morbidity in 19 states of India.
Their integrated 360 degree approach uses deep mobile penetration to
work with pregnant women and children aged under 5. They also support
health workers and systems in early identification, referral, and treatment of
risk factors, resulting in improved health outcomes. It has reached 27 million
women and children, and trained 229,000 frontline health workers, with plans
to scale pan-India in the coming 5 years.
Ms Priti Patel is the Chairperson and Managing Director for a Women Centric
Defence Manufacturing Company. Raspian Enterprises was established to
manufacture state of the art Small Arms Weapon Systems and Security &
Defence Products. It caters to the Indian and Global defence requirements
which are unrivalled in reliability, quality and cost efficiency.
She heads a team of experts who work on continuous R&D for product
improvements, mainly focused on indigenization of latest technologies. She
envisions women of India to participate actively in the Defence and the
Security sector.
Managing the largest
mhealth porgramme in
partnership with MoHFW,
ARMMAN is implementing
the Kilkari and the Mobile
Academy.
Raspian Enterprises contributes
substantially to making India a self-reliant
country in arms and armament for women. 38 39
Providing People with an
Emotional Resilience tool
for Mental Health
Handcrafted Silver
Jewellery that Derives
Inspiration from History,
and has a Unique Story
Jo Aggarwal
Touchkin eServices Private Limited (Wysa)
Bangalore, Karnataka
Sayalee Marathe
Aadyaa Originals Pvt. Ltd.
Pune, Maharashtra
Jo Aggarwal launched the chatbot ‘Wysa’ in 2016 after her own struggle
with depression. She realized the power of Cognitive Behavior Training,
a skill to be learnt. The name ‘Wysa’ comes from Eliza, which was the first
such chatbot ever created. Five years and 700 iterations later, Wysa has
helped over 4 million people, most of whom had no other mental health
support.
The hundreds and thousands of stories of transformation that people have
shared after talking to Wysa, have been personally the most meaningful
learning for the team.
Aadyaa is premium, handcrafted silver jewellery brand creating collections
based on history, revival, nature and abstraction. Sayalee Marathe, Founder
of Aadyaa works with artisans to create authentic silver jewellery and make it
available worldwide.
It has been incubated at IIM Bengaluru and is a part of Cornell University’s first
cohort of accelerator programme with Maharashtra. They aim to create well
researched, authentic and handcrafted pure silver creations.
Wysa is giving mental
health support and
transforming lives by
leveraging technology
and establishing one to
one connects.
Tradition, soul and happiness are Aadyaa’s
key pillars, striving to create silver products
inspired by nature and history. 40 41
Inspiring a Billion Lives
with Stories of Hope,
Courage and Initiative
Anuradha Parekh
Vikara Services Pvt. Ltd. (The Better India)
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Anuradha Parekh has influenced millions of Indians to a be part of
the solution rather than remain part of the problem. Her initiative ‘The
Better India’ has provided access to information, awareness and hope
– empowering readers to become changemakers in their own ways.
It shares stories that have positively influenced government policies,
brought farmers out of poverty, helped urban slum schools get funded,
brought water and sanitation in villages, to name a few.
She has challenged the media landscape in the country and changed
the narrative from one of despair and demotivation to one that is
inspiring and action-oriented.
The Better India is changing mindsets
from one that considers itself part of the
problem to one that wants to be a part of
the solution.
Gifting the Coming
Generations a Zero Waste
Future
Victoria Joslin D’Souza
Swachha Eco Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Set up in 2008 by Mrs Victoria Joslin D’Souza, Swachha is on a mission to
make a difference in the ever changing landscape of waste management.
They have an MOU with the Municipal Corporation of Bengaluru (BBMP) to
set-up Karnataka’s First Dry Waste Processing Centre.
This has led to a collection drive of dry waste for more than 54 wards
of Bengaluru for recycling. The team at Swaccha ensures that they never
lose track of the trends, regulations and compliance related to waste
management industry. The have successfully diverted 28,871 tons of waste
from landfill so far.
Swachha promises a
clean,green and sustainable
future for everyone. 42 43
Reimagining Bamboo
Products to Create Rural
Employment
Putting Environment First
and Reimagining Batteries
Akshya Shree
Tad Udyog Pvt. Ltd. (Silpakarman)
Delhi & Tripura
Nimisha Varma
Aloe Ecell Pvt. Ltd.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Akshya Shree has launched two brands, ‘Silpakarman’ and ‘BeYouTea - The
bamboo leaves tea’. Silpakarman provides home and kitchen utility products
handmade by 250+ artisans across 5 clusters in rural Tripura. Each product is
carefully crafted using organic and traditional methods.
‘BeYouTea’, their recently launched flagship product, a patent-pending blend,
creates rural employment. It engages community members who have lost their
jobs and had to come back to their villages due to the pandemic and have no
income opportunities.
Nimisha Varma wears many hats. To solve the problems of e-waste, pollution and
diseases caused by hazardous batteries, Aloe Ecell created the world’s first 100%
eco-friendly and safe 1.5V AA size batteries using Aloe Vera. The product has
been recognized by the Indian government and corporates like Schneider Electric.
In pursuit of Atmanirbhar and Sashakt farmers, Nimisha’s team has innovated
India’s first 100% eco-friendly recycled fertilizer from dead batteries. Aloe Ecell
has also launched Batteries on Blockchain- a battery tracing mechanism to collect
e-waste and promote Swachh Bharat.
In the recent pandemic, they launched a very economical face-shield and a peer-
to-peer educational model (Naya Savera) to help rural India.
Tad Udyog (Silpakarman)
is creating a sustainable rural
economy value chain system
that empowers the communities
in bamboo growing regions
and provides customers
sustainable product alternatives.
Aloe Ecell, World’s First 100% Eco-
Friendly Non Hazardous Battery should
be the solution for all Battery problems. 44 45
Investing in and Up-skilling
of Local Communities to
Create World Class Products
From the Framer’s Heart to
your Plate
Chayaa Nanjappa
Nectar Fresh
Mandya, Karnataka
Roopa Maganti
Greentatwa Agri Tech LLP
Hyderabad, Telangana
Chayaa Nanjappa is a rural social entrepreneur & her brand Nectar Fresh has
been empowering tribals, rural communities and small farmers for the past 13
years. Today, Nectar Fresh is synonymous with the word ‘quality’ & has become
a preferred brand for the quality conscious markets. It has invested in the local
communities, training them to manufacture products of international standards.
As a farm gate processing unit, it has helped numerous farmers avoid the
spoilage of their produce. Chayaa’s initiative of supporting local farmers & local
manufacturers of packaging materials helped them immensely while bringing
down costs for Nectar Fresh.
Greentatwa is a social enterprise that believes natural farming contributes to
sustainability. Roopa Maganti supports rural women agripreneurs by creating
livelihoods at the grassroots level and providing residue-free food to keep her
consumers healthy through their brand ‘Sudhanya”. They connect the three
cornerstones - Farmers, Agriprenuers, and Consumers, and reduce carbon
footprints in the food supply chain through a cluster-based approach.
Giving geotag to their farms through satellite imagery allows them to
understand the soil health, weather and water resources and assist the farmers
in scientific and systematic farming. Greentatva supports rural agriprenuers
engaged in processing grains and producing value-added products, with
quality control, packaging, branding, and market reachability.
Nectar Fresh, a market
leader in quality products, is
creating an enviable presence
through strict adherence to
strong business ethics. They
adhere to their core values of
supporting small farmers and
empowering tribal and rural
communities.
Greentatva envisions fostering a holistic,
sustainable development with symbiosis of 5Ps…
Planet, People, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships. 46 47
“An important attribute of
success is to be yourself. Never
hide what makes you, you.”
- Indra Nooyi 48 49
Tech Platform for Enabling,
Reskilling and Mentoring
Women
Promoting Green Mobility
Amongst the Masses
Tanuja Abburi
Transformation Skills India
Pvt. Ltd. (Beyond Pinks)
Hyderabad, Telangana
Sulajja Firodia Motwani
Kinetic Green Energy and Power
Solutions
Pune, Maharashtra
A true pathfinder, Tanuja is known for many noteworthy milestones and
contributions towards developing and nurturing talent. In her current avatar as an
entrepreneur and founder of Transformation Skills India Pvt. Ltd (Beyond Pinks),
she has leveraged her passion and expertise in talent development to provide a
support system for women to sustain their careers, return to their job and flourish
in their careers.
Prioritizing women at the grassroots level, her organization, supported by NITI
Aayog, is a tech-enabled mentoring solution which uses Design Thinking to solve
the D&I challenge. They have mentored over 4000+ women so far and nurtured
critical partnerships with industry bodies like HYSEA and NHRD.
Sulajja set up an e-mobility venture over 5 years ago, when EV technology
was nascent with more disbelievers than supporters. She showed exemplary
vision and courage to enter a new field and successfully turned that dream
into a reality. She invested in developing advanced EV technology, including
indigenous motors, controllers and batteries. Under her leadership, Kinetic
Green has reached 100% localization.
She created advanced yet affordable e-three wheelers and two-wheelers for
the masses - an e-auto for Rs. 1 lakh, aligned with Kinetic’s vision that it’s
vehicles should attract customers without any subsidy. Her company has sold
over 50,000 EVs and created mass employment.
Beyond Pinks, an all-women
organization supports mentoring
women with over 50+ areas of
mentoring and 150+ mentors
from over 60+ blue-chip
organizations. Their vision is to
impact 10,000 lives by 2022
and 1 Lakh lives by 2025.
Kinetic Green is a leading player in
India’s EV sector. It is building a robust
PAN India EV ecosystem to promote
Green Mobility for the Masses. 50 51
Providing Sustainable
Sanitary Health across
India
Providing Unique
Drought Solution by
Reusing Floodwater
Prachi Kaushik
Vyomini Social Enterprise
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
Trupti Jain
Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Prachi, a young social activist, founded Vyomini in 2017 to solve social,
economic, and environmental challenges. Vyomini aspires to build a robust
ecosystem that enables women-led entrepreneurship and leadership in
emerging high impact sectors like clean energy, agriculture and nutrition,
health and sanitation.
They are a group of outstanding young women with exceptional leadership
skills, promoting sustainable sanitation hygiene products & entrepreneurship
among underprivileged communities.
Trupti Jain has a distinguished career of working with Non-profits,
institutions promoted by the State Government (Education Department,
Women & Child Development, Urban Development and Rural
Department). Her social enterprise Naireeta Services Pvt. Ltd. (NSPL) is
creating gender centric climate change mitigating processes for inclusive
development of urban and rural poor women. NSPL is promoting
‘Bhungroo’, a world bank awarded water irrigation technology.
She is pursuing Zero Hunger, No Poverty, GenderEquality and
Climate Action through Women Climate Leaders for ultra-poor women
smallholders across India, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Africa.
Vyomini believes that
excluded and resource-poor
communities can be revitalized
through economic growth and
social progress if the untapped
potential of grassroots women
entrepreneurs is realized.
Naireeta Services is resurrecting
Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of Antodaya,
serving the last person in the queue in the
best possible ways. 52 53
Providing Mental Health
Coaching and Counselling
Making Eco-friendly
Reusables the Mainstream
Choice for Menstrual Hygiene
Richa Singh
YourDOST Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Anju Bist
Amrita SeRVe (Saukhyam Reusable Pad)
Kollam, Kerala
A personal loss of losing a friend to suicide in Richa’s engineering days gave
birth to the idea of building a tech-based anonymous solution. Her company,
YourDOST, is one of India’s largest emotional wellness platforms. Through its
holistic approach, it provides intervention at individual, team, and leadership
levels to create an empathetic and high-performing culture.
The technology platform provides access to 900+ psychologists and coaches
for 1 on 1 counselling, self-help tools, training, assessments etc.
Anju Bist and her team are the first in the world to make reusable menstrual pads
from banana fiber, which comes from agro-waste. Saukhyam Reusable Pads have
won multiple awards and are sold internationally. Their vision is that the same
high-quality pad they export should be made available at very affordable prices
in rural areas of India.
To date, they have sold and distributed over 500,000 pads, helping prevent the
emission of over 2000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually. This has also helped
eliminate an estimated 43,750 tons of non-biodegradable menstrual waste.
YourDOST is on the
mission to build a
happier and healthier
India, one smile to many
more smiles at a time.
Amrita SeRVe is providing high-
quality affordable menstrual pads
made of banana fiber to women
and girls everywhere. 54 55
Equipping Communities to
Create Products from Local,
Green, Eco-friendly Materials
Bridging the Growing
Healthcare Disparity
Payal Nath
Kadam Haat
Kolkata, West Bengal
Romita Ghosh
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd.
Delhi
Payal Nath co-founded Kadam Haat & Kadam Foundation, an upskilling initiative for rural
artisans. Kadam Haat is a handicrafts store for both. The two organizations work in tandem
to skill, create opportunities for, and provide sustainable livelihoods to marginalized
communities in rural India. Using Green,100% eco-friendly local materials like grasses and
Green technology, Kadam has been training and bringing livelihood opportunities directly
to their homes, 85% of them being women.
Making the rural enterprises equal stakeholders in this journey, they are today taking
ownership and inspiring their peers.
iHeal HealthTech Pvt. Ltd. is an award-winning MedTech startup that is making
innovative Medical Devices Accessible to end-users across India. Under the
dynamic leadership of Romita Ghosh as the CEO, it supported Delhi Govt. in
combating COVID-19 and assisted in saving 20,000+ lives during the crisis.
They have been strengthening Sashakt aur Samarth Bharat Missions by up-
skilling students, youth and the communities and have already trained over
20k+ enthusiastic individuals. Over the years they have impacted 50k lives
with preventive and supportive healthcare products.
Kadam Haat weaves a
dream where the richness
of rural lives is unleashed,
every pair of hands has
work, technology supports
the communities and their
environment, and every mind
is creatively building Bharat.
iHeal HealthTech is making healthcare
accessibile and affordable a tangible
reality for every Indian. 56 57
Empowering the Next
Generation of Innovators to
Solve Real World Problems
Keeping Plastics in the
Economy and out of the
Environment
Pooja Sharma Goyal
Building Blocks Learning
Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Meha Lahiri
Recity Network Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Building Blocks Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd., has been instrumental in empowering
children and schools to innovate using next generation technology skills. As a
Co-founder, Pooja has been a long-time champion for experiential learning that
inspires children to become problem solvers, builders and makers who are fearless
when it comes to seeking solutions to solve complex real-world problems.
Their kits and courses under the brand name Avishkaar help children between 5-18
years learn critical 21st century skills like Computational Thinking, Mechanical
Design and Design Thinking. They are building a powerful virtual robotics platform
that will enable every child in India to learn these critical technology skills.
Meha Lahiri’s entrepreneurial journey at Recity has not only been about
solving India’s systemic plastic waste challenges in 12+ cities through circular
economy solutions, but also nurturing a gender-neutral and resilient culture
towards building a healthy workforce. Recity has also tirelessly been working
towards professionalization of formal and informal waste workers.
Since inception, over 69% women waste workers have been impacted with
the help of health modules and medical camps, coupled with skill-based and
entrepreneurship trainings, social recognition and government authorized
benefits such as e-shram and occupational IDs.
Team Avishkaar
believes every young
child has an innovator
hidden within them and
they support in creating
the next generation of
innovators.
Recity has been championing
impactful outcomes to ensure
standardization of green supply chains
and robust tech-enabled solutions. 58 59
Empowering Women with
Sustainable, Affordable
and Hygienic Menstrual
Health Solutions
Building Women-led
Social Enterprises
Geeta Solanki
Unipads India Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Neelam Chhiber
Indus Tree Crafts Foundation
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Unipads, founded by Geeta Solanki, is a social business established with a
vision to provide affordable and hygienic menstrual health solutions to women.
Unipads engages them in manufacturing cost effective reusable/washable
cloth sanitary pads and making these available in remote areas.
Their manufacturing allows them to reduce the costs by almost 50% over
standard disposable pads with its lifecycle of 1 year. Direct customer availability
is made by empanelling Women Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLE) known as
Kalyanis. Currently they work with 96+ Kalyanis across their network.
Working on the socio-economic transformation of women from the most
vulnerable communities, Neelam Chibber co-founded Indus Tree. Their work
is redefining Indian and global artisanal manufacturing systems as being
pivotal to the next Regenerative Economy. It strategizes an experiential model
to create a self-owned ecosystem for sustainable livelihoods.
This model has tripled artisanal incomes in non-farm occupations by
leveraging their skills and integrating them in the creative sector. Their outreach
has extended to 500,000 lives across India and Africa and built cumulative
markets of 58 Million USD across IKEA, Future Group, FabIndia etc.
Unipads ensures women
have access to affodable
and hygenic menstrual
porducts and supporting
livelihoods by engaging
women level entrepreuners.
Indus Tree envisions a world in which
millions of producers rise out of poverty
by building sustainable livelihoods within
regenerative production practices. 60 61
Adopting Pathbreaking
Teaching and Learning
Approach
Building a Robust
Ecosystem in the Education
and Special Needs Domain
Suchetha Bhat
Dream a Dream
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Chahat Vasal
NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Suchetha joined Dream a Dream as a volunteer in 2007. Over the years, she
has driven the scale and strategic direction of the organization. Today, as the
CEO of Dream a Dream, she leads with an unparalleled depth of understanding
of a young person’s journey.
They have helped introduce new holistic curriculums, transform teacher
training/learning practices, change pedagogical approaches to learning,
redesign core curriculum frameworks and inspired the ecosystem to shift
mindsets towards ‘For Every Child, A Thriving Life’ as the core purpose of
education. Dream A Dream has reached over 3 million children in India.
Chahat Vasal co-founded NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a research-driven
technology and product startup in the field of education and special needs.
NerdNerdy’s first-of-its-kind, robust end-to-end technology solution address
the various problems faced by professionals in the special needs sector.
They have developed 300+ indigenous, hands-on intervention tools that assist
professionals in conducting therapy. It has also set up special resource rooms
in 18 Army Public Schools and was a finalist in the National StartUp India
Awards 2021.
Dream a Dream is working
to shift the narrative from an
academics focused education
model to a personalized,
contextualized model. It works
towords ensuring equity, dignity,
and inclusion.
NerdNerdy aims to become an
intelligent knowledge and solution
provider for each stakeholder in the
field of special needs education. 62 63
Craft Architects - Building
Bridges between the Crafts
and Corporate Sectors
Building Assistive-
Technology Innovations to
Empower Visually-Impaired
Mayura Balasubramanian
Craftizen Foundation
Bengalore, Karnataka
Akshita Sachdeva
Trestle Labs Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Mayura has expertise across the entire handicrafts value chain from sourcing,
grassroots capacity building, and design development to improving operational
efficiency and enabling marketing across multiple channels. Her company,
Craftizen, skills disadvantaged sections of society who do not have access to
mainstream income-earning, including adults with intellectual disability and
underprivileged women in urban, rural & tribal areas. They provide support
across the crafts value chain.
Craftizen has developed 250+ unique designs from over 30 different craft
skills, impacting over 2,500 beneficiaries across Bangalore, Hyderabad,
Kolkata and Lucknow. Craftizen has a range of initiatives, including CSR
programmes for craft-based livelihoods, customized merchandise solutions,
workshops and employee engagement.
Akshita Sachdeva, in her company, Trestle Labs, is building assistive technology
solutions that help visually impaired people listen, translate and digitize any
kind of printed, handwritten and digital content across 60+ global languages.
Their flagship innovative product, Kibo comprises of three products - Kibo
mobile app, Kibo XS Device and Kibo Desk web software to cater to the
lifestyle, learning and earning aspects of the users’ life.
Launched in July 2019, their products make schools, colleges, universities,
and workplaces inclusive and empower 65,000+ blind and visually impaired
individuals with enhanced academic and workplace productivity.
Craftizen envisions
preserving and evolving
Indian craft and artisanal
skills so that they remain
an integral part of our
cultural fabric.
Trestle Labs is empowering the visually-
impaired by giving them the right to choose
what they want to access, read and learn,
and when, without being dependent on what
the world can make accessible for them. 64 65
Groundbreaking
Application of Robotics in
Special Education
Carving out Paths, and
Giving them Destinations
Dr. Ramya S Moorthy
Nimaya Innovations Pvt. Ltd.
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Dr. Hina Shah
International Centre for
Entrepreneurship and Career
Development (ICECD)
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Dr Ramya has worked with hundreds of children across the country, providing
learning acceleration by more than 60%. Nimaya Innovations is a culmination of
her expertise and 5 years of research. Nimaya has created a series of IoT based
Robotic Training devices and an end-to-end training programme called Suprayoga
to help individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other multiple disabilities. It
trains them to acquire Daily Life activities and associated psychomotor skills based
on active learning. Its screening tool GITA is launched in various languages.
Nimaya is on its way to becoming an end-to-end, state-of-the-art platform,
offering screening assessment and training.
With a firm belief that economic empowerment is a powerful tool, Hina Shah
began working on this idea in the year 1983, keeping in mind how socio-
cultural, political, physical and religious fields have a direct impact on the
lives of women. The first programme, termed as Entrepreneurship Development
programme for women, started with only 25 women of Gujarat, whose
businesses are still doing well. This clearly demonstrated the sustainability of
the development approach for achieving women’s economic empowerment.
In 1986, she also started The International Centre for Entrepreneurship and
Career Development (ICECD).Hina’s relentless efforts to change the face
of the deprived, dependent women of rural and tribal India has created a
noteworthy impact.
The women improved their status as they began their little businesses, started
earning, and making profits for a sustainable and independent living. Hina
Shah considers this as a tribute to the humanity and wants to do much more.
“Nimaya” means to “create
a change” in Sanskrit and that
is exactly what they are trying
to do for millions of special
needs children by helping
them progress towards
independent living.
ICECD is building an “Entrepreneurial
Society”, by facilitating access / control
of women on productive resources
leading to social and economic
empowerment. 66 67
Scaling Livelihoods through
Education, Employment
and Entrepreneurship
Magical Hands with
Mystic Colors
Dr. Gayathri Vasudevan
LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd.
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Kirti Poonia
Okhai
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Dr Gayatri Vasudevan, Co-founder and Chairperson of LabourNet is a true
visionary. In the year 2021-22, when the pandemic was at its peak, LabourNet
impacted the lives of 18,000 students who were motivated to enroll for short term
courses. 27,000 adolescents benefitted from vocational training programmes,
and 500 students enrolled for B.Voc programme.
There were 19,000 certifications issued under RPL, 3,000 benefitted under
their apprenticeship programme, 2,000 entrepreneurs received trainings and
over 6 lakh people got vaccinated against COVID-19.
Kirti built Okhai, offering handcrafted apparel and lifestyle products created
by rural artisans from across India. Okhai has become India’s largest Direct
to Consumer Apparel & Lifestyle marketplace for artisans to retail directly to
customers.
Under her leadership and guidance, she has scaled the organization from
350 to 27,000 artisans, achieving 10X the revenue in just 6 years.
With a mission to improve
the incomes of individuals
in the informal sector,
LabourNet Services designs
sustainable interventions with
Education, Employability and
Entrepreneurship at the core.
Okhai aims to create livelihood
opportunities for rural women artisans and
protect ancient crafts from dying. 68 69
Realising Sustainable
Social Change through
Public Policy
Towards a Sustainable
Environment and Society
Samina Bano
RightWalk Foundation
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Girija K Bharat
Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd.
Gurugram, Haryana
RightWalk drives equity, inclusion & social justice by co-shaping public
policies, unlocking public funds and making public entitlements accessible
to disadvantaged people. It was founded by Samino Bano, and since its
inception, she has prioritized Social Inclusion. This has remained the hallmark
of RightWalk’s practice.
The team has the knowledge and experience to bring key issues to decision-
makers, committees, state agencies, and communities. It is known for bringing
a mindset shift from exclusion to inclusion in politics, bureaucracy, media,
public and schools.
Founded by Dr. Girija K Bharat, Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd. is working
towards promoting an environmentally conscious society. This is acheived
by improving the quality of life of communities through environment friendly
solutions, drawing knowledge from global best practices and applying this to
the local context.
They conduct research on water and sanitation (rural and urban), waste
management, environmental management, water resource management. This
mission is supported by the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA).
RightWalk Foundation is
driving equality, inclusion and
social justice by co-shaping
public policies, unlocking
public funds and making
public rights accessible to
people on the ground.
Mu Gamma Consultants is improving
the quality of life of communities by
offering contextualized environment
friendly solutions, drawing knowledge
from global best practices . 70 71
Reimagining and
Transforming Education for
Communities by Combining
Indigenous Wisdom
Embracing Biological
formulations for
Chemical Free Healthcare
Gitanjali J Angmo
Himalayan Institute of Alternatives
Leh, Ladakh
Puunam G Kaushik
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL) is the world’s first doer’s
university, that combines Academics, Research and Entrepreneurship through a
curriculum that is contextual. The pedagogy is experientially conducted through
real-life experience, and the approach is trans-disciplinary, problem solving,
combining indigenous wisdom with modern technology.
As the Co-Founder, CEO & Dean, Gitanjali leads Academic Development that
includes setting up of new schools & centres of excellence, curriculum design &
development. She also facilitates fund-raising and scaling-up of the successful
research pilots into consulting assignments and sustainable & responsible local
enterprises.
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. is a first generation, research driven,
integrated and diversified global biopharma leader. Puunam G Kaushik,
Deputy Managing Director works towards ‘Innovation through Discovery’,
the company today services over 500 customers across 50 industries in
over 90 countries. Today, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals has become a one-
stop solution for all biological requirements across Enzymes, Probiotics,
Nutraceutical, Finished Formulations, and Animal Health Care.
They continuously work towards introducing novel ingredients and formulations
in the Biopharmaceuticals market by innovative research techniques and finest
service & quality standards by strong technical support.
Himalayan institute of
Alternatives is empowering
youth and communities with
a contextualized educational
experience.
Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals is
carving its niche through a commitment to
quality & novel biotech solutions for foods
& pharma sector. 72 73
“Giving up was never an option
for me, no matter how hard the
circumstances. Each of us is
fighting our own battles. But as long
as we are determined to remain
steadfast, we will reach our goal.”
- Pabiben Rabari 74 75
Building a Movement
of Leaders to Eliminate
Educational Inequity
Biotech Initiative Aspiring
to Build Entrepreneurial
Skills through a Scientific
Approach
Shaheen Mistri
Teach For India & The
Akanksha Foundation
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Aardra Chandra Mouli
Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.
Trivandrum, Kerala
Shaheen founded Teach For India in 2008 with the audacious vision of providing
an excellent education to all children across India by building a movement of
leaders committed to ending educational inequity in India. Today, Teach For India
impacts 32,000 children through the direct work of over 900 Fellows and 250
staff members across eight cities and has produced over 9,100 student alumni.
Additionally, their Alumni community is 3,800+ members strong, impacting 1
million children directly and reaching 33 million children indirectly.
Aardra is a biotech engineer, entrepreneur and an entrepreneurship researcher.
She is the founder and Managing Director of Aeka Biochemicals Pvt. Ltd.,
the first fully women-owned environmental biotech company in India. She is
passionate about making science and entrepreneurship accessible to all those
interested in these fields, especially women.
Aardra holds an MRes in management from UCL, an MSc in management from
Warwick Business School, and a Bachelors in biotechnology and biochemical
engineering from the University of Kerala.
Teach For India’s work for
children over three decades
has mobilized thousands of
people to work together for
systemic change in education
Aeka Biochemicals is helping to incorporate
green user friendly options which are effective,
and have a focus on urban cultivation, water
treatment, recycling, remediation or waste
management. A significant contribution towards
reducing “human footprints” on Earth. 76 77
Launching an Advisory,
Earth Observation Data
Analytics and Exploring
New Vistas in Space
Leading Women with
Special Abilities from
Darkness to Light
Dr. Susmita Mohanty
Earth2Orbit
Bengalore, Karnataka
Shalini Khanna Sodhi
NAB India Centre for Blind Women
and Disability Studies
Delhi
Susmita Mohanty is the only space entrepreneur in the world to have started
companies on three different continents: USA, Europe and India. Her Indian
venture Earth2Orbit (E2O) is India’s first space start-up and has helped lead
India’s foray into the nearly $420 billion global space market. E2O played
a pivotal role in opening up the US launch market for the Indian PSLV rocket
despite the 1998 US Embargo and a stringent export control regime.
In 2019, Susmita was selected as one of BBC’s 100 Women laureates inspiring
and influencing a female-led future. In 2017, she was featured on the cover
of Fortune Magazine. She is a member of the World Economic Forum Global
Future Council for Space Technologies.
NAB India Centre empowers blind women to realize their dreams of dignified
living and self-reliance by offering professional, market-aligned and skill-based
training and services as a lifelong support and offer financial independence.
Shalini Khanna Sodhi, Founder Director has done pioneering work in
equipping blind girls in skills like Customer Care management, Executive Spa
Therapist, Bakery etc.
Blind Women often face discrimination, and are left out of the mainstream
society, they are also trained in table etiquettes, self-defense, sexual health,
and personal grooming. This helps to bridge the gap and accords them
opportunities for fair inclusion in the society.
Earth2Orbit is leading
India’s foray into the
global space marketplace
by inspiring the new
generation to dream and
reach for the stars.
NAB India Centre aims to make every
invisible blind woman, an invincible force
- driving a paradigm shift in India for
women with disabilities. 78 79
Creating Oppurtunites for
STEM Careers, by Building
Ecosystems
Dr. Darshana Joshi
VigyanShaala International
Almora, Uttrakhand
Dr. Darshana Joshi, Founder and CEO of VigyanShaala is determined to
create equity in STEM education and opportunities for the most marginalized
communities across India. Carefully developed ecosystems can reduce
inequality and uplift the marginalized sections to build careers in STEM. The
organization is building unique ‘Phy-gital’ ecosystems addressing the STEM
opportunity gap by Kalpana - She for STEM. This is a digital mentorship
programme bringing scientific opportunities for women and creating Rural
STEM-champions as part of their fellowship model. As a part of this initiative,
there are physical science labs provided to rural STEM undergraduates
which help them to work on innovative models under full support support and
mentorship.
VigyanShaala has created a knowledge and inspiration pipeline which
connects rural colleges to global Mentors by providing them hands-on
laboratory experience and leadership training.
Creating a better world
through science, the mission of
VigyanShaala is to enable
innovators to achieve their
dreams in STEM careers.
Promoting Sustainable
Development, Empowering
Women’s Collectives
Prema Gopalan
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
Pune, Maharashtra
Prema Gopalan founded Swayam Shikshan Prayog to empower grassroots
women’s networks & communities across Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar
and Odisha states. Her work has empowered 300,000+ rural women as
entrepreneurs and change makers. They are building resilient communities
across 7 climate hit States in India, positively impacting over six million people.
Under her guidance, over 150,000 rural women have been repositioned as
climate adaptive farmers who are also decision makers with land rights and
incomes.
Fulfilling its mission since 1998,
Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP)
is transforming grassroots women from
beneficiaries to decision makers. 80 81
Ensuring After Sales
Tech Support for All Your
Gadgets
Ensuring Knowledge
About Safety is Just a Click
Away
Dhevibala Umamaheswaran
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP
Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Megha Bhatia
Our Voix
Delhi
Bigfix Gadget Care LLP is a multibrand gadget care centre, operational since
2012, founded by Dhevibala Umamaheswaran. Today BigFix, is a leader in
providing cost-efficient repair solutions for mobile phones, computer laptops,
desktops & tablets. It connects brands with customers through service partners
to perform aftersales activities and specialize in End-to-End managed services.
They also provide out of warranty support through retail care centre and
e-commerce enabled logistics service delivery models.
Megha Bhatia is the director of Our Voix, a not for-profit organization working
on the prevention of child sexual abuse. Our Voix has been building digital
animated movies and courses to help children and teachers identify abuse and
speak up. The content of Our Voix has benefited 4 Lakh indirect beneficiaries
in 8+ states and 18,000 children directly, also talks about sexual abuse.
She has been selected as one of the top 10 innovators in the field of gender
equality, “Innovations Marketplace for Gender Equality” programme by
Youth Co:Lab.
BigFix Gadget Care
aims to professionalize
the break-fix industry and
identify, up-skill and create
employment opportunities
to certified blue collar
technicians though their
network.
Our Voix’s Child Safety Courses, give
children the right resources to speak up and
stay safe in today’s world. 82 83
Engaging Stakeholders
for Scaling Systemic
Transformation in Education
Envisioning a World
Without Human Trafficking
and Exploitation
Khushboo Awasthi
Mantra Social Services
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Hasina Kharbhih
Impulse NGO Network
Shillong, Meghalaya
Mantra4Change, co-founded by Khushboo Awasthi is a not for profit organization
committed to creating an enriching learning experience for children in public
schools. The team firmly believes that systemic transformation in education is
impossible without collaboration at every level. Their mission is to enable education
leaders to drive sustainable improvements in 1.5 Lac schools by 2025.
Towards this, they design & implement programmes with the Department of School
Education across states, and have orchestrated an ecosystem of like-minded
NGOs in order to scale the idea of systemic transformation.
For 32 years now, Hasina Kharbhih, has been working to provide sustainable
livelihood in a safe environment for 30,000 women in the North Eastern states
of India. What started out as a mission in her home state of Meghalaya, has
today evolved into a global programme that aims to put an end to human
trafficking and exploitation worldwide.
Her work stands on two pillars: the first is Impulse NGO Network which was
conceptualised in 1987 and is a significant force against human trafficking
today. The second pillar is Impulse Social Enterprises which aims to promote
local artisans and create sustainable livelihood and covering more than 7000
artisans in eight North Eastern States.
Mantra is enabling an
enriching learning experience
for children, handholding
the education leaders to
drive continuous school
improvements.
Team Impluse believes human
trafficking can’t be completely stopped
until women at the grassroots becomes
economically self sufficient. 84 85
Ensuring Advancement
of Small and Marginal
Farmers
An Omni-Channel Platform
for New Age Food and
Beverage Brands -
A Win-Win Enterprise
Anita Kumari
Madhopur Farmers Producer
Company Ltd.
Bihar sharif, Bihar
Anju Srivastava
Wingreens Farms Pvt. Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Anita Kumari, an agricultural women entrepreneur by profession, works in
cultivation of mushroom, mushroom span production, beekeeping, horticultural
and cereal crops. She is also well known as ‘Mushroom Lady’, as her production
of mushrooms has won several awards as well.
Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) are agricultural cooperatives that are
emerging as a practical approach towards empowering a great number of
smallholder farmers and ensuring their prosperity. She envisions imparting
training and handholding assistance to FPOs for their development and
evolution into effective enterprises.
Anju has set up a unique socially inclusive business model in the food and
beverage sector. The “WIN” of Wingreens comes from the Women’s Initiative
Network which skills and empowers underprivileged women to make world
class products. Wingreens also has a farming model where it works with
marginal farmers to give them technical knowhow and predictable income.
Their products are sold in over 250 cities in India and the range spans dips,
sauces, mayonnaise, baked chips, wide range of organic products, bakery
premixes and herbs and seasonings.
Madhopur Farmers is
assisting Farmer Producer
Organizations through
entrepreneurial development
for establishing effective
enterprises.
Wingreens is based on a socially
inclusive business model in which the less
privileged sections of society become the
pillars of the organization. 86 87
Providing Personalized
Achievement Journey For
Every Child
Aditi Avasthi
Indiavidual Learning Ltd. (Embibe)
Bangalore, Karnataka
Embibe is the world’s first edtech company that truly delivers learning and life
outcomes. It has put the tech in teaching - leveraging AI and state of the art
pedagogical frameworks to help every child experience true personalization.
Over the last nine years, the founder, Ms. Aditi Avasthi’s commitment to open
access has given Embibe unprecedented data to understand what truly works.
The platform delivers personalized achievement journeys for every learner in
their mother tongue at a price-point accessible to all. Embibe is living by its
motto of - “Every Child Will Achieve”.
Embibe is a movement to
deliver learning and life
outcomes to students. It
also empowers teachers to
be their best.
Using Data Analytics for
Effective Decision Making
Ayushi Mishra
DronaMaps Pvt. Ltd.
Indore, Madhya Pradesh
Ayushi Mishra, Chief Operations Officer, DronaMaps leverages traditional
geospatial techniques, integrating them with data coming from Management
Information Systems, drone maps, mobile applications, WhatsApp chatbots
and more. In the end, a layer of intelligent AI/ML analytics is built to enable
the usage of select data points for effective decision making.
The system relies on creating data interoperability in siloed data sets, thereby,
creating long term savings on cost.
DronaMaps democratises
access to mapping and supports
accurate decision making using
refined analytics. 88 89
Building a Pathway to
Self-Sufficiency and
Financial Security
Increasing Productivity and
Profits through Customized
Irrigation Solutions for
Farmers
Chetna Gala Sinha
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Dr. Swapna Priya K
Farms2fork Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Bangalore, Karnataka
Chetna is a social activist associated with the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari
Bank. Her contribution has been instrumental in setting up the first women
pension fund in partnership with the Unit Trust of India for rural women micro-
entrepreneurs in India.
The bank has also set up the first cash credit product for rural women in weekly
markets. They aim to reach one million women by 2024 by nurturing an
ecosystem within which they can thrive.
Dr Swapna Priya K is the Chief Operating Officer of an Agri tech company
Farms2fork Technologies. She aims to build a low cost irrigation advisory model
leveraging on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning combining on-
ground sensors, satellite and weather data to detect low soil moisture and alert
the farmers at a very low cost.
Their mission is to help Paddy, Sugarcane, Cotton, Grape, Pomegranate and
Banana growing farmers to increase profit by upto 30% and save water by
50% with their customized irrigation solution powered by AI and Internet of
Things (IoT).
Mann Deshi Mahila
Sahakari Bank’s vision
is to create a supportive
environment where women
micro-entrepreneurs can
successfully flourish and be
valued by all.
Farms2fork is using artificial intelligence
and machine learning to increase farm
productivity. 90 91
Building a One Stop Shop
for Dairy Farmers
Transitioning India to
Create a Type 2 Diabetes
Free World
Neetu Yadav
Animall Technologies Ltd.
Gurgaon, Haryana
Swati Pandey
Arboreal Bioinnovations Pvt. Ltd.
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh
Co-founder of Animall Technologies Ltd., Neetu Yadav, ensures that her platform
primarily focuses on building a peer-to-peer cattle trading platform. Their journey
has been very encouraging and promising - they have reached more than 8 million
dairy farmers within a short span of 2 years. In the next 5 years, Animall aims to
create digital solutions in financing, insurance, healthcare and all dairy farming
needs of India’s dairy farmers.
Under the leadership of Swati Pandey, Arboreal Bioinnovations are proud
to be recognized for their groundbreaking efforts in transitioning India to
the Post Sugar World. Their team is driven by the vision of creating a Type-2
diabetes-free world in their lifetime. Arboreal combines advanced scientific
R&D with traceable, scalable and sustainable supply chain of Stevia to deliver
great-tasting applications that are loved and desired by calorie-conscious
consumers.
Their core team comprises of professionals with over 200 years of collective
experience in Phytoceuticals and Natural Extracts.
Animall’s mission is to
build efficiencies in the
dairy ecosystem in India
using technology, data
science, and design.
Arboreal combines
advanced scientific R&D
with traceable, scalable
and sustainable supply
chai. 92 93
For Trash Free, Rash Free
and Shame Free Periods
Using Age Old Ayurveda
Knowledge to Create Niche
World Class Products
Malini Parmar
Rekke Personal Care Pvt. Ltd.
(Stonesoup.in)
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Mira Kulkarni
Forest Essentials
Delhi
Malini Parmar, Ex-IT professional considers herself an accidental activist
turned social entrepreneur. Stonesoup is a sustainable menstrual hygiene
product company that also promotes other sustainable living products.
Collectively Stonesoup has diverted more than 12 million disposable sanitary
pads from landfill and created 100+ evangelists (Saathis) and 250+ producers
pan India. Impacting positively women’s health, environment and creating
employment for women.
Hailing from the Ayurvedic hub in India, Mira Kulkarni used her knowledge
and experience to establish Forest Essentials. She was introduced to Ayurveda
early in life and worked with Vaids (Ayurveda specialists) for many years to
learn formulations before launching the brand in 2000.
Her knowledge of natural ingredients and time-tested formulas with her passion
for creating high-quality Indian products that keep the inherent properties of
Ayurveda ingredients intact, led to the success of the brand.
Stonesoup wants
municipalities to have
zero sanitary waste and
women to experience
happy periods.
Forest Essentials is the quintessential
Indian Beauty Brand that uses age-
old wisdom and extensive research to
make premium products available to its
customers. 94 95
Facilitating Lifestyle
Behavioural Changes
through Healthy Coaching
with a Wellness Lens
Crafting an Inclusive
World for Artisans as
Co-owners, Co-creators
and Co-travellers
Preeti Rao
Weljii
Delhi
Sumita Ghose
Rangsutra Crafts India
Bikaner, Rajasthan
Preeti Rao’s focus at Weljii is to provide evidenced based Health and Wellness
Coaching Services and Education that foster prevention and management of
lifestyle diseases from a 360 degree perspective for organizations, individuals
and professionals.
Her organization Weljii, offers programs on weight-loss, fitness, sleep, smoking
cessation, alcohol de-addiction, stress, anxiety, diabetes, heart health, and
much more! They also offer Certification and Training Programmes, giving
a chance to aspiring professionals to become certified Health & Wellness
Coaches.
Sumita Ghose is the Founder and MD of Rangsutra, a community owned social
enterprise with over 2000+ artisans as shareholders. The goal is to ensure
sustainable livelihoods for rural artisans, 80% of whom are women. Their
artisans are also co-owners, co-creators, managers and board members.
They believe that traditional handicrafts and textiles can be a source of regular
livelihood and value creation for rural artisans.
Weljii inspires,
motivates, facilitates
people to live a life of
optimum health and
wellbeing.
Rangsutra is a bridge between
artisans and customers, between
rural and urban and between
change and continuity. 96 97
Towards a Pain Free Life
where Interventions Focus
on Your Feet
Revolutionizing Access to
Instant and Secure Data
Trishla Surana
Colour Me Mad Pvt. Ltd.
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Rajoshi Ghosh
Hasura
Bangalore, Karnataka
Trishla, Managing Director of Your Foot Doctor addresses the really important
issue of mobility and pain free life for the mass population who suffer due to
Flat Feet and other foot related pain. It is a start-up that cares for your feet and
is focused on providing foot care solutions using innovation, technology and
human touch.
It has benefited thousands of customers by delivering pain relief footwear and
insoles, both off the shelf and customized as per their foot condition.
Hasura is an open source product that accelerates data access, by
providing GraphQL or REST APIs with built in authorization on your data,
instantly., Rajoshi is the co-founder of Hasura, which is the first open-
source unicorn startup in India, and she is also the first woman founder of
a unicorn startup in India.
Hasura is one of the fastest growing open source projects in this space and
has been downloaded over 450 million times by developers globally.
Hasura enables developers to get an API to access data instantly so that
they can build mission critical applications rapidly.
Foot is the foundation of our
body and Colour Me Mad
firmly believes that wearing
the right support and foot
care is the key to mobility
and good health!
Hasura is on a mission to make data access
fast, secure & scalable. Envisioning a world
where developers are enabled to build
applications at the speed of thought. 98 99
Giving A Life of Purpose
to the Specially Abled by
Building their Functional
Abilities
Fostering an Ecosystem for
Persons with Special Abilities
to Lead a Dignified Life
Sugandha Sukrutaraj
AMBA
Bangalore, Karnataka
Shanti Raghavan
EnAble India
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Ashoka Fellow, Sugandha Sukrutaraj founded a social enterprise, AMBA. It
focuses on changing paradigms/mindsets about adults with Moderate/Severe
Intellectual Disabilities, while discovering infinite functional possibilities. They are
building an ecosystem to build, operate and sustain training and employment
within 475 ACPCs (AMBA Certified Partner Centres).
They are working towards building an ecosystem of learning and earning for
these individuals using Information Technology, giving them the dignity and
independence that they deserve.
EnAble India (EI) a non-profit organization started by Shanti Raghavan. They are
working on the ground for the last 2 decades and impacting thousands of persons
with disability (PwDs). Their vision is a world where persons with disability are tax
payers, active citizens and nation builders.
EI is on a mission to build a sustainable Livelihood Ecosystem for millions of PwDs to
attain a dignified life while having a positive impact on the economy and society. This
will lead to a paradigm shift where PwDs are leading to a shift in the consciousness of
the society.
AMBA works to maximize
potential of community of
adults with moderate to
severe intellectual disability
across India by economically
empowering them.
EnAble India is ambitious
for the cause of economic
independence and dignity for
persons with disability. 100 101
Digitising Fashion Products
by Driving Excellence in
Manufacturing
Suchi Mukherjee
LimeRoad
Gurgaon, Haryana
Suchi Mukherjee has built a unique platform, LimeRoad with best in class
fundamentals. They aim to create access to digital fashion for everyone. So
far, LimeRoad has served over 16 million customers.
This is a team of survivors who have focused on driving excellence; it is the
only team from the 2010-2014 cohort of fashion commerce companies, who
cumulatively raised over 10,000 crores.
LimeRoad wants to
digitize fashion worth Rs.
400,000 crores, enabling
next 100 million users
through creation of an
unparalleled ecosystem. 102 103
KNOWLEDGE PARTNERS
EDITORIAL TEAM @ CKDEVALUATION TEAM @ GRANT THORNTONDESIGN TEAM @ IPE GLOBAL
SHILPI JAIN
Lead - Corporate Communication
SUDHI JAIN
Associate Director
SEEMA GUPTA
Advisor
VIKAS GAMBHIR
Executive Director
SAPNA SUBBA
Assistant Manager
SAHIL KUMAR
Consultant
SUKRITI JAIN
Manager
CHIRAG SINGLA
Assistant Manager
ARADHANA MATHUR
Communication Officer
PALLAVI DUGGAL
Deputy Manager 104 105
SPONSORS
PLATINUM
GOLD
SILVER
INDIA 106 107 108