NITI Aayog to host 5th Women Transforming India Awards tomorrow

New Delhi [India], March 20 (ANI): NITI Aayog's Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) is set to host the fifth edition of the Women Transforming India Awards (WTI) on Monday, informed the apex public policy think tank of the Government of India on Sunday.
According to a statement issued by the NITI Aayog today, the WTI will felicitate 75 women achievers to honour their contribution towards a 'Sashakt Aur Samarth Bharat', as India celebrates the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence.
In a show of solidarity and alliance, an equally exceptional group of women will confer the awards to the achievers--Kiran Bedi, former Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Lakshmi Puri, former Assistant Secretary-General of UN; Dr Tessy Thomas, Director-General of Aeronautical Systems, DRDO; Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Chairperson of State Bank of India; Debjani Ghosh, President of NASSCOM; Ila Arun, acclaimed singer; Salma Sultan, former news anchor at DD; Dr Sangeeta Reddy, Joint Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals; and Shivani Malik, Managing Director of Da Milano Leathers.
CEO of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant and Senior Adviser Anna Roy; Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator in India and Kailash Kher, who has written, composed and lent his voice to the WEP anthem, will be present at the event.
Sports champions Shiny Wilson, Track and Field Athlete; Karnam Malleswari, first Indian woman to win a medal in weightlifting in the 2000 Olympics; Lovlina Borgohain, Tokyo Olympic medallist in boxing; Mansi Joshi, World No. 1 para-badminton singles' player in SL3; Pranati Naik, Tokyo 2020 Olympian gymnast and 2019 Asian Championship medallist; and Simranjit Kaur, Tokyo 2020 Olympian and 2018 AIBA World Championship medallist; and women defence officers will mark their presence as well.
NITI Ayog accepted applications for the WTI Awards' 21 from October 1, 2021, to February 21, 2022, under the categories of Public and Community Service; Manufacturing Sector; Non-manufacturing Sector; Financial Products enabling Economic Growth; Climate Action; Promote Art, Culture and Handicrafts; Digital Innovation.
All 75 awardees selected on the basis of nominations received on WEP and through shortlisting by a search-and-select committee represent different regions and sectors.
Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) aims to build a vibrant ecosystem for women-led enterprises, the platform works to strengthen industry linkages and increase awareness of existing programmes and services. More than 900 women entrepreneurs have been benefitted through 77 programmes and events hosted on the platform, to date.
The platform played an active role during Covid-19 by conducting webinars to provide business support to women entrepreneurs and through its Masking It Up campaign, the adversely impacted women-led small businesses in India were supported. (ANI)