The Week That Was: Indian Women Empowerment News Overview (17-22 October)

The Week That Was: Indian Women Empowerment News Overview (17-22 October)

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 22 October 2022

Women's empowerment and equality with men are universal issues. Supporting, elevating, and motivating women is the goal of "women empowerment." It also serves to acknowledge the strides that women and girls have made toward financial independence, gender equality, and self-assurance. We should all take on the extremely important task of empowering women. This is because empowering women strengthens the entire community as well as upcoming generations. There are many ways to empower girls and women, and the entire community must come together to accomplish this.

A few recent instances that have emancipated women in diverse ways are highlighted by WomenEntrepreneurIndia. Take a look at it.

Union Finance Minister Sitharaman Visits National Science Foundation in Washington

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the National Science Foundation headquarters, in Washington and was given presentations on critical issues like astronomy, AI for robotics, and public messaging during health crises.

Sitharaman was in the American capital to attend the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. She started her six-day trip last Monday with an interaction with the think-tank community at the prestigious Brookings Institute.

During her visit to the NSF on Sunday, Sitharaman was given virtual presentations on astronomy, public messaging during health crises like COVID-19, and AI for robotics, with applications for agriculture and environmental sustainability by eminent and distinguished professors.

Kailash Satyarthi begins a National Movement to end Child Marriage

While starting the statewide campaign for a "Child Marriage Free India" in village Navranpura in Virat Nagar town of Jaipur district, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi welcomed the Central Government's proposal to raise the marriageable age of females from 18 to 21. Speaking on Sunday, he said, "I welcome the Government of India's plan to raise the age at which girls can get married from 18 to 21. I call upon faith leaders to speak out and guarantee that all those who perform weddings, even at the village level, do not perpetuate this crime against minors. I call on all the caterers, decorators, banquet hall owners, bands and others to not provide their services for these weddings and not indulge in this criminal act. For those of you who are stopping child marriage in your villages, you are not alone. I am with you. As your brother, I will protect and support you in every possible manner. I will not leave your side in this fight."

Opportunity International receives $2 million Grant to Remove Obstacles and Open Capital to Women-led Businesses

Opportunity International, a well-known global pioneer in offering financial services, training, and support to help people escape poverty, has received a $2 million grant from the Visa Foundation to help women-owned small- and microbusinesses in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda. This funding will help Opportunity International provide micro and small company loans, digital tools, and specialised technical training to these businesses.

The grant will assist in unlocking an additional $14 million in capital through small business loans to women-led businesses by using cutting-edge digital tools that are powered by machine learning and credit scoring algorithms and utilising cutting-edge financial instruments like collateral and interest rate buy-downs.

Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund Promotes Shruti Srivastava to Investment Director

Mumbai-based Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund, India’s first and largest climate-tech venture capital fund, further solidifies its leadership team by promoting Shruti Srivastava, former Principal to the role of Investment Director. The firm also roped in Vishnu Rajeev - the erstwhile Mobility and Climate Tech Lead at Axilor Ventures - as an Investment Principal. With these developments, the Fund furthers its commitment to investing in technology-driven global climate solutions from India, and strengthening India’s climate-tech ecosystem.

In addition to investments, Vishnu and Shruti will work closely with founders and portfolio companies in the Fund’s focus sectors of energy transition, resource management, mobility, supply chain decarbonisation, and sustainable agriculture and food systems.

IWPA Honors IndiGo For Women's Empowerment In Aviation And Aerospace

Indian Women Pilot Association (IWPA) has honoured IndiGo, India's top airline, during the 55th Emerald Golden Jubilee for Women Empowerment in Aviation and Aerospace. The most female pilots are employed by IndiGo than by any other airline in the world. By hiring more than 680 women pilots and setting an example for the rest of the world, the airline was recognised by IWPA for its efforts to foster an inclusive and gender-diverse workplace culture. Along with equality, physical health, mental health, and social well-being, IndiGo also gives women's needs priority.

Capt. Ashim Mittra, Senior Vice-President: Flight Operations, IndiGo, said, “We are extremely grateful to IWPA for recognizing IndiGo’s efforts towards women empowerment.

US DFC lends USD 35 million to Credit Access Grameen in India to Empower Women Entrepreneurs

In order to provide 5 lakh female entrepreneurs with access to credit, the US government's Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Indian microfinance organisation CreditAccess Grameen (CAG) have struck a 35 million dollar loan agreement.

DFC's chief executive officer Scott Nathan, who is visiting India, performed the formal signing.

The largest NBFC-MFI in India, CreditAccess, provides services to almost 4 million women. The US corporation's loan will help Creditaccess Grameen's microlending portfolio to grow.

"Over the course of the loan, it is anticipated that DFC's funding will enable CreditAccess to assist an extra 500,000 needy women.

WIC Nutrition Programme for Women and Children receives $53 million from the Biden Administration

In order to increase outreach efforts, advance technology, and improve the shopping experience for families participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, the US Department of Agriculture is granting grants totaling $53 million.

The cash, which comes from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, is intended to assist state agencies, community organisations, and other NGOs test out fresh approaches of connecting with WIC clients both present and future.

India requests the Protection of Women's Rights in Afghanistan during a UN Meeting

India urged the international community not to turn a blind eye when the rights of women and minorities are being violated at the UN, expressing alarm over an escalating trend to exclude women from public life in Afghanistan.

"The world cannot look the other way when the rights of women and minorities are being trampled upon. There has been an increasing attempt towards removing women from public life in Afghanistan. We call for women and minorities to be included in Afghanistan's future and their rights to be fully respected, as affirmed in UNSCR 2593," said Ambassador R. Ravindra, Deputy Permanent Representative at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debate on women, peace, and security.

50 Women Entrepreneurs Received 'Shakti Awards' in Odisha Capital

Pratap Keshari Deb, the minister of industries and MSME, presented the "Shakti Awards" to 50 women business owners and microbusiness owners in the state of Odisha.

The Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Indian Women Network (IWN) organised the "Shakti Ru Samrudhhi" programme at Lokseva Bhavan's Convention Center in collaboration with the MSME Department, Startup Odisha, and Mission Shakti. This year's award, called the AM/NS Shakti Award, aims to encourage female leadership for economic progress.