'Power of 49' campaign's 2nd phase unveiled by Tata tea

The company plans to reach out to 100 million women by creating awareness and encouraging them to vote

Ahead of the forthcoming general elections, Tata Global Beverages that operates Tata Tea, today launched the second phase of its 'Power of 49' initiative to encourage women to cast an "informed" and "independent" vote.

As women form 49 per cent of the voters base in the country, the company said it plans to reach out to 100 million women by creating awareness and encouraging them to vote.

"The 'Power of 49', we anticipate, will awaken the Indian women to the power of their vote, to the expectation that is more informed and participative female electorate will ensure that the system responds more diligently to women's issues, thereby positively impacting national development," Mukund Rajan, member - Group Executive Council and Brand Custodian, Tata Sons told reporters here.

Rajan highlighted some of the statistics in the country and said, "a new rape case is being reported every 20 minutes, 95 per cent of the girls are dropping out of the schools at the age of 15, 50 per cent of girls at some point of their life face domestic violence.

He further said that only 11 per cent of the parliamentarians are women, while in the corporate world only 5.3 per cent of directors in top 100 companies in the BSE are women.

"Of late, alongside the media and the rest of the nation, we in Tatas have been alarmed by the numerous episodes which have demonstrated the vulnerability of women in Indian society and the need to further empower them," he said.

The company will use television daily soap actors and Bollywood actors to create awareness, apart from its advertisements.