In today’s times, women across all sectors are breaking the glass ceilings and becoming a source of inspiration to many. To promote women empowerment, the government and corporates are working closely. Be it government programs like ‘Ranchi ki Roshni’ or initiatives by companies like Adani Godda, empowering women has been a major agenda.
In a recent example of breaking all stereotypes, an employee of the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Akanksha Kumari has become the first ever female mining engineer in India to work in the underground coal mines.
Hailing from Barkagaon in Hazaribagh, Akanshahe did her schooling from Navodaya Vidyalaya and as she spent her childhood days in a mining belt, coal mining activities interested her for long and she decided to pursue mining engineering at BIT Sindri, Dhanbad. At Churi underground mines in the Jharkhand’s North Karanpura area, she joined CCL, a subsidiary of Coal India. As per the official statement, “A graduate of BIT Sindri, Ms Kumari broke the gender barriers by joining Churi UG mine, NK Area. She became the 1st women mining engineer in the history of CIL to work in the underground mines”.
In a bid to making women self-reliant, the Adani Group in Godda also aided women by forming Self-Help Group (SHG) Phoolo Jhano Saksham Sakhi Mandal, to produce masks and handed them to the district administration. This mission strives to offer training to rural women with industrial sewing machines in order to make them work at an assembly-line pace in the future. The administration of Godda also appreciated the Adani Group’s initiative and helped in its expansion.
“The programme was started by Adani Foundation in Godda at a very small scale, but looking at its potential, the then Deputy Commissioner Kiran Kumari Pasi expanded it to engage more than 1,500 SHG women belonging to 118 SHG.” District Programme Manager Sushil Kumar Das.
Apart from Adani Godda, ‘Ranchi ki Roshni’, a unique solar lighting initiative by the District Administration, Ranchi and Jharkhand Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS) also works to transform indoor lighting in rural areas. Affordable solar technology, recycled plastics and sustainable components are used by rural women self-help groups in Ranchi District, as they produce affordable solar lamps. The major objective behind the programme is sustainability and affordability. Additionally, the project aims to instill the spirit of entrepreneurship among rural women.
“The training of the SHGs for the pursuance of the programme was planned in 3 phases. The first phase of training was a weeklong residential training to assess the current level of skill and learning aptitude. The second and third phases of the training were conducted for three months in a demarcated sequence of production to increase the speed of the process” JSLPS Ranchi, District Programme Manager, Kumar Divyadeep Singh
Historic achievements by women like Akanksha and programs by Adani Group in Godda and JSLPS in Ranchi play a pivotal role in inspiring women across the nation, promote gender equality and help to generate more opportunities.
