5 Powerful women in India

The state of women in India is a topic of discussion in many parts of the world, sadly most of the time it’s not for good reasons. The safety of women in many parts of the country is a huge concern for Indians today. Yet, there are some powerful women in the country who remind us that Indian women aren’t just victims of violence and disparity, but also strong leaders who are working shoulder to shoulder with men in the country.

Here are 5 such women:

ARUNDHATI BHATTACHARYA

Arundhati Bhattacharya
Picture By: Indian Express

The current Chairperson of the State Bank of India, Bhattacharya is the first woman to lead an India based Fortune 500 company. She recently introduced a two-year sabbatical policy for women employees for child or elder care. Last year, she was listed as the 36th most powerful woman in the world by the Forbes magazine.

CHANDA KOCHHAR

Chanda Kochhar
Picture By: The Sunday Times UK

The Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Chanda Kochhar has been honoured with Padma Bhushan Award for her contribution to the field of Finance. Kochhar was ranked as the most powerful business woman in India in Forbes' list of 'The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2013.

KIRAN MAZUMDAR SHAW

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
Picture By: The Hans India

The chairperson and managing director of Biocon Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bangalore, Mazumdar is one of the richest self-made women entrepreneurs in India today. Along with being the current Chairperson of IIM-Bangalore, she has been listed as the 92nd most powerful woman in the world by the Forbes magazine.

CHITRA RAMAKRISHNA

Chitra Ramakrishna
Picture By: The New Indian Express

The first woman managing director and chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the world's largest exchange in cash market exchange, Ramakrishna is highly respected in the financial world. In 2013, she was Forbes' Women Leader of the year.

SUMITRA MAHAJAN

Sumitra Mahajan
Picture By: Economic Times

An Indian politician who has been Speaker of the Lok Sabha since 2014, Mahajan is the longest-serving woman member. She has also served for a time as a Union Minister of State of India. She is the eldest and senior most among woman members of parliament in the 16th Lok Sabha MP's list and was previously a member of Committee on Empowerment of Women.

List compiled by: Silicon India

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