International Women's Day: President Kovind to confer Nari Shakti Puraskars, PM Modi interacts with awardees

New Delhi: On International Women's Day today - March 8, 2022 - President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the Nari Shakti Puraskars to 29 outstanding individuals for the years 2020 and 2021. On the eve of Women's Day, PM Modi interacted with the recipients of the award. Twenty-eight awards - 14 each for 2020 and 2021 - will be given to 29 women in recognition of their exceptional work towards the empowerment of women, especially the vulnerable and marginalised.

The awardees include Merchant Navy captain Radhika Menon, social entrepreneur Anita Gupta, organic farmer and tribal activist Ushaben Dineshbhai Vasava, innovator Nasira Akhter, Intel-India head Nivruti Rai, down syndrome affected Kathak Dancer Saylee Nandkishor Agavane, first woman snake rescuer Vanita Jagdeo Borade and mathematician Neena Gupta.

The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an initiative of the Women and Child Development Ministry to acknowledge the exceptional contribution made by individuals and institutions and to celebrate women as game-changers and catalysts of positive change in society. The recipients are from fields such as entrepreneurship, agriculture, innovation, social work, education and literature, linguistics, arts and crafts, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), disability rights, merchant navy, and wildlife conservation.

On the eve of Women’s Day, interacted with recipients of the Nari Shakti Puraskar. We are very proud of their accomplishments and their efforts to serve society. https://t.co/lfJIr6A1nn pic.twitter.com/wOlLHDeAW4

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 7, 2022

Meanwhile on Monday (March 7), President Ram Nath Kovind said it is important to empower daughters to make them self-reliant which will enable them to achieve their aspirations. In his message on the eve of International Women's Day, which is observed every year on March 8, Kovind said when the world is continuously changing, Indian women are making a significant impact in their personal and social lives as well in the national arena.

"They are also playing an important role in the development process of our country. It is important to empower our daughters to make them self-reliant. It would enable them to achieve their aspirations even while fulfilling their responsibilities vis-a-vis their family, society and nation," he said.

This day is also an occasion to reiterate our resolve to ensure the safety, dignity, and prosperity of women, the president was quoted as having said in a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan. "We must give our sisters and daughters opportunities to realise their potential and hence contribute in nation-building," Kovind added.

(With PTI inputs)