PM Narendra Modi interacts with winners of Nari Shakti Puraskar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday interacted with the winners of Nari Shakti Puraskar on the eve of International Women's Day.

Twenty-eight awards, 14 each for 2020 and 2021, will be given to 29 women in recognition of their exceptional work towards the empowerment of women, especially the vulnerable and marginalised.

The awards will be given by President Ram Nath Kovind on International Women's Day which is on March 8.

The awardees include Merchant Navy captain Radhika Menon, social entrepreneur Anita Gupta, organic farmer and tribal activist Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava, innovator Nasira Akhter, Intel-India head Nivruti Rai, down syndrome affected Kathak Dancer Saylee Nandkishor Agavane, first woman snake rescuer Vanita Jagdeo Borade and mathematician Neena Gupta.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an initiative of the Women and Child Development Ministry to acknowledge the exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions and to celebrate women as game-changers and catalysts of positive change in society.

The recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy and wildlife conservation.