Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture, Govt. of India calls for equal participation of women to achieve sustainable development at BRICS CCI WE Annual Women’s Summit

Mumbai, 10th April 2022: BRICS CCI WE the women’s vertical of the BRICS Ch amber of Commerce and Industry which works towards promoting active trade, commerce and entrepreneurship between the BRICS and other friendly nations celebrated its 2^nd Annual Summit on the theme “Achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through Women Empowerment” at a power packed event in the capital today. Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture, Govt. of India was the Chief Guest at the Summit. The Summit was also graced by HE Mrs. Mariana Pacheco Montes, Ambassador of Colombia to India and Ms. Ria A Sital, Charge d’ Affaires, Embassy of Republic of Suriname to India.

The Summit also saw the presence of eminent dignitaries Dr Ashok Dalwai, CEO, NRAA, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare; Garima Bhatnagar, Spl. CP Intelligence (Delhi), Mr Sahil Seth (IRS), Joint Commissioner- GST, Customs & Narcotics, Smt. Sonal Goel (IAS), Resident Commissioner, Tripura Bhawan, Mr Abhishek Singh (IAS), Ms. Durga Shakti Nagpal (IAS), Dr. BBL Madhukar, DG, BRICS CCI, Vishwas Tripathi Chairman, BRICS CCI, Mr AK Singh, Vice Chairman, BRICS CCI and Mr Ruhail Ranjan, ADG, BRICS CCI and the BRICS WE team of Shabana Nasim, Vertical Head, Ruby Sinha, Convenor, Shormishtha Ghosh, Director- Business Advisory and Ankita Sachdev, Jt. Director.

Delivering the keynote address Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’ble Minister of State for Culture, Govt. of India said “I think Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav will be incomplete, if we do not know our history, our society and the kind of work which our ancestors have done. I think it's time to rekindle the spirit of empowering our society through women not women empowerment. I think women are already an empowered lot and sustainable development goals cannot be achieved without the equal participation of women.”

Dr. BBL Madhukar, DG, BRICS CCI said “We have to nurture women who have not had the opportunity to gain adequate education, because only through education can we truly empower the women”

Women trailblazers from various walks of life were also felicitated at the day long Summit.

●        Rural Women Empowerment- Smt. Lajwanti, Phulkari Artist and Padma Shri Recipient (2021)

●        Sports- Avani Lekhara, Paralympian Rifle Shooter and Padma Shri Recipient (2021)

●        Education – Prof. Najma Akhtar, VC, Jamia Millia Islamia University and Padma Shri Recipient (2022)

●        Bureaucracy- Ms. Sanjukta Mudgal, Jt. Secy, Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India

●        Global Woman Leader- Dr Marcia Lebambo, Senior Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa)

●        Global Woman Leader- Gao Qingqing, CEO, Kingsignal Technologies India Pvt. Ltd (China)

●        Global Woman Leader- Tatiana P. Vorobyova, Deputy Director for Development, National Fund for Development and International Integration (Russia)

●        Technology- Rituparna Mandal, GM & R&D head, MediaTek India

●        Finance- Jagriti Kumar, CFO, NLB Services

●        Entrepreneurship- Seema Jindal, Founder, Nourish Organics

●        Healthcare- Dr Kamala Kakamanu, Founder, Kamala Dental Care (Cosmetic & Aesthetic Dentist)

●        Philanthropy- Dr. Aishwarya Pandit, Founder, First in Class

●        Marketing- Ruchi Kukreja, GM- Copper Marketing, Hindalco Industries Ltd.

●        Fashion and Global Influencer- Masoom Minawala, Global fashion blogger and entrepreneur 

Emerging Women Leaders from the BRICS Network were also felicitated on the occasion. 

●        Dr. Neha Mittal (Consultant Physiotherapist)

●        Sunila Yadav (Managing Director- Anil Mantra Aviation P. Ltd.)

●        Suchali Jain (Founder, Suchali’s Artisan Bakehouse)

●        Dr. Priyanka Goyat (Founder, REJOVE Clinique)

●        Sneha Srivastava (Senior, Project Leader, Central Square Foundation)

●        Dr Shweta Singh (Founder & CEO, Ennoble IP, SheReal, WIEF & CIIR)

●        Dr. Priyanka Singh (Nutritionist)

Interactive and insightful panel discussions on the theme “Sustainable Development Through Women’s Economic Empowerment and Gender Equality” and “Gender Equality Drivers in the New Normal” were also held at the Summit. The Summit was sponsored by Fore School of Management, Power Grid Corporation Ltd., sheatwork, Hindalco Industries Ltd. and NF Infratech.

About BRICS CCI Women Vertical

BRICS CCI Women’s Wing was established with a vision to assist enterprising women entrepreneurs to create a global presence. Their endeavour is – to develop a supportive ecosystem to enable women to realize their full potential by focusing on women empowerment initiatives and policies across geographies, which in turn will help in generating employment and further help in the overall growth of the economy. The objective of the women’s wing is to create an enabling support system for women entrepreneurs and professionals across geographies. The BRICS CCI Women’s Wing organises trade fairs, exhibitions, seminars, symposium, mentorship and training program, lectures and business campaigns from time to time to intensify the institutional links and business relations between BRICS countries and other friendly nations.