A brief glance at the Powerful and Influential Women who have become role models for the enterprising youth of the country
Words: Vandana Devi Images: Various Sources
Savitri Jindal
India’s richest woman with a net worth of $4.9 billion. She is also the 14th richest Indian person. She has been the chairperson of the OP Jindal Group since the death of her husband in 2005. Being an influential figure in the political spectrum as well, she is an important symbol for female power in the country.
Alice G Vaidyan
She became the first woman in the country to get the top post in a public sector insurer. In a decade where we saw many women clinch the top spots in companies, Vaidyan took the top spot at General Insurance Corporation of India.
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
She is India’s richest self-made woman, and has been ranked 22nd among the 56 self-made female billionaires around the world. She pioneered an enterprise in biopharmaceuticals and Biocon is among the few companies in the Indian pharmaceutical industry who focus on innovations rather than just making generic versions of drugs that are going off patent.
Nita Ambani
She chairs Reliance Foundation, the charitable arm of the Reliance empire. She is involved in various ventures like sports ( Mumbai Indians cricket team in IPL for example), education and she also sits on the board of East India Hotels (company of the Oberoi luxury hotel chain). A very philanthropic woman, she spends a considerable amount of her time and energy on social ventures.
Naina Lal Kidwai
The country head of HSBC India, she is considered one of the most influential women in India. She was the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School. She has repeatedly ranked in the Fortune Global list of Top Women in Business.
Indu Jain
She controls the operations of Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, a media power house that runs large magazines and newspapers including the Times of India. She founded “The Times Foundation” to give back to society and support women empowerment. She received the ‘Padma Bhushan’ award in 2016.
Arundhati Bhattacharya
She leads India’s 200 year old bank, State Bank of India and is the 1st woman to be leading SBI. Forbes listed her among the ‘Most powerful Women in the World 2016’. She was also the youngest person to reach the position of Chairperson of SBI.
Chanda Kochhar
She leads India’s largest private bank ICICI and was awarded the title ‘Retail Banker of the Year 2004’ and ‘Business Woman of the Year 2005’. She is well known for her contribution in helping shape the retail banking system in India.
Shobhana Bhartia
She is the Chairperson and Editorial Director of HT Media Ltd, which runs India’s second largest English newspaper, Hindustan Times. She was an MP in the Rajya Sabha and is pro-chancellor at Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences. In 2005, she struck the first ever foreign direct investment in the Indian newspaper industry.
Ekta Kapoor
Starting Balaji Telefilms at the age of just 19, she is a TV and film producer. In 2012, she was awarded Asia’s Social Empowerment Award – Freedom through Education. She is the joint Managing Director and Creative Director of Balaji Telefilms and the company is at the top of the industry.