Shillong social entrepreneur Hasina Kharbhih, founder and chair of the board, Impulse NGO Network, was among the 75 women entrepreneurs conferred the Women Transforming India Award by NITI Aayog on Monday.
“To mark 75 years of Indian independence, the NITI Aayog decided to bring in 75 women from across the country who have transformed India. I am one of the recipients and the only one to receive the award from Northeast of India,” Kharbhih told EastMojo.
Hasina Kharbhih has been working to provide sustainable livelihood in a safe environment for women and children. She began with a small mission in her home state of Meghalaya, which has today evolved into a global program that aims to put an end to human trafficking and exploitation worldwide.
This year, as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence, the WTI Awards were conferred on women achievers to celebrate their contribution towards a ‘Sashakt Aur Samarth Bharat’.
“The WTI Awards celebrates the dynamic efforts of women by sharing their exemplary stories and exceptional work. From shattering social boundaries to paving the way for an equal India, these winners lead by example,” NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said in his keynote address.
The award ceremony recognized women entrepreneurs who have made their mark across different sectors. The selection process for the same spanned several months, and the 75 awardees were chosen on the basis of nominations received on Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and through shortlisting by a search-and-select committee.
Here is the complete list of Winners:
- Aardra Chandra Mouli, Aeka Biochemicals
- Aditi Avasthi, Individual Learning Limited (Imbibe)
- Aditi Bhutia Madan, BluePine Food Pvt. Ltd
- Akshita Sachdeva, Trestle Labs Pvt. Ltd
- Akshya Shree, Tad Udyog Pvt. Ltd
- Alina Alam, Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
- Anita Devi, Madhopur Farmers Producers Company
- Anju Bisht, Amrita SeRVe (Saukhyam Reusable Pad)
- Anju Srivastava, Winegreens Farms
- Anu Acharya, Mapmygenome India Ltd
- Anuradha Parekh, Vikara Services Pvt. Ltd (The Better India)
- Aparna Hegde, Armman
- Ayushi Mishra, DronaMaps
- Chahat Vasal, NerdNerdy Technologies Pvt. Ltd
- Chayaa Nanjappa, Nectar Fresh
- Chetna Gala Sinha, Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank
- Darshana Joshi, VigyanShaala International
- Dhevibala Umamaheswaran, Bigfix Gadget Care LLP
- Dipa Chaure, Krantijyoti Mahila Bachat Gat (Rural)
- Gauri Gopal Agarwal, Skilled Samaritan Foundation (Sirohi)
- Gayathri Vasudevan, LabourNet Services India Pvt. Ltd
- Geeta Solanki, Unipads India Pvt. Ltd
- Dr Girija K. Bharat, Mu Gamma Consultants Pvt. Ltd
- Gitanjali J. Angmo, Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh
- Hardika Shah, Kinara Capital
- Hasina Kharbhih, Impulse NGO Network
- Hina Shah, ICECD
- Jo Aggarwal, Touchkin eServices Pvt. Ltd (Wysa)
- Khushboo Awasthi, Mantra Social Services
- Kirti Poonia, Okhai
- Malini Parmar, Stonesoup
- Mayura Balasubramanian, Craftizen Foundation
- Megha Bhatia, Our Voix
- Meha Lahiri, Recity Network Pvt. Ltd
- Mita Kulkarni, Forest Essentials
- Neelam Chhiber, Industree Crafts Foundation
- Neetu Yadav, Animall Technologies Ltd
- Neha Satak, Astrome Technologies Pvt. Ltd
- Nimisha Varma, Aloe ECell
- Nisha Jain Grover, Vatsalya Legacy Educational Society
- Payal Nath, Kadam Haat
- Pooja Sharma Goyal, Building Blocks Learning Solutions Pvt. Ltd
- Prachi Kaushik, Vyomini Social Enterprise
- Preeti Rao, Weljii
- Prema Gopalan, Swayam Shikshan Prayog
- Priti Patel, Raspian Enterprises Pvt. Ltd
- Puunam G. Kaushik, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd
- Dr Radhika Batra, Every Infant Matters
- Rajoshi Ghosh, Hasura
- Ramya S. Moorthy, Nimaya Innovations Pvt. Ltd
- Richa Singh, YourDOST Health Solutions Pvt. Ltd
- Romita Ghosh, Heal Healthtech Pvt. Ltd
- Roopa Maganti, Greentatwa Agri TechL LLP
- Samina Bano, RightWalk Foundation
- Savita Garg, Eclassopedia
- Sayalee Marathe, Aadyaa Originals Pvt. Ltd
- Shaheen Mistri, The Akanksha Foundation
- Shalini Khanna Sodhi, National Association for the Blind
- Shanti Raghavan, EnAble India
- Suchetha Bhat, Dream a Dream
- Suchi Mukherjee, LimeRoad
- Suchitra Sinha, Ambalika
- Sugandha Sukrutaraj, Amba
- Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions
- Sumita Ghose, Rangsutra Crafts India
- Supriya Paul, Josh Talks
- Susmita Mohanty, Earth2Orbit
- Dr Swapna Priya K., Farms2fork Technologies Pvt. Ltd (CultYvate)
- Swati Pandey, Arboreal Bioinnovations Pvt. Ltd
- Tanuja Abburi, Transformation Skills India Pvt. Ltd
- Trishla Surana, Colour Me Mad Pvt. Ltd
- Trupti Jain, Naireeta Services
- Victoria Joshlin D’Souza, Swachha Eco Solutions Pvt. Ltd
- Vidya Subramanian, Vidya Subramanian Academy
- Vijaya Swithi Gandhi, Chitrika
The Awards were conferred by acclaimed personalities like Kiran Bedi, former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry; Lakshmi Puri, former Assistant Secretary-General of UN; Dr Tessy Thomas, Director-General of Aeronautical Systems, DRDO; Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Chairperson of State Bank of India; Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM; and singer Ila Arun.
Sports champions Shiny Wilson, Track and Field Athlete; Karnam Malleswari, first Indian woman to win a medal in weightlifting in the 2000 Olympics; Lovlina Borgohain, Tokyo Olympic medallist in boxing; Mansi Joshi, World No. 1 para-badminton singles’ player in SL3; Pranati Naik, Tokyo 2020 Olympian gymnast and 2019 Asian Championship medallist; and Simranjit Kaur, Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2018 AIBA World Championship medallist; and women defence officers also attended the event.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Senior Adviser Anna Roy; Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India; and Padma Shree awardee and acclaimed singer Kailash Kher also graced the event with their presence.
The event saw scintillating performances by Kailash Kher and dancers Aishwarya and Shinjini Kulkarni, eventually culminating in the release of a coffee table book on the WTI 2021 award-winners.
The Women Transforming India Awards is NITI Aayog’s annual initiative to highlight the commendable and ground-breaking endeavours of India’s women leaders and change-makers. The WTI Awards have continuously recognized role models who have broken glass ceilings and created a positive impact. Since 2018, the Awards have been hosted under the aegis of NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), with a special focus on entrepreneurship.
Shillong activist Hasina Kharbhih speaks at UNGA event on human trafficking
