12 women awarded for 'transforming India'

Union minister Smriti Irani and Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya on Tuesday awarded 12 women from different parts of the country to recognise the transformational impact of their work across villages, towns and cities.

"Women Transforming India Awards", this year, to promote equal opportunity of women, received 3,000 entries from across the country.

"It is a great opportunity for me to be here among these wonderful women who have such inspiring stories," Irani said during the award ceremony.

"You don't hear such stories everyday. These stories need to be told. We are going to do something so as to bring across these stories of change to the whole nation," she added.

She further said that the stories from previous year's awards will be combined along with this year's and reached to the people through some medium.

The list of winners included Subasini Mistry, who saved for two decades to build a hospital for the needy after losing her husband at a young age, Arunima Sinha for being India's first amputee to climb Mount Everest, and goat veterinarian Sunita Kamble for creating alternative livelihood opportunities for women.

A jury comprising former Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Indian Olympian P.T. Usha, Indian Air Force officer, Wing Cdr Pooja Thakur, Panagariya, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, and UN Resident Coordinator Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Coordinator undertook the process to shortlist 12 top awardees.

--IANS

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