On March 8, 2020 President Ram Nath Kovind honoured 15 women with ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’(Women Shakti Award) for 2019 at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi. The award is conferred annually to eminent women and institutions in recognition of their service towards the cause of women empowerment & social welfare.
i.This award is an initiative of the Ministry of Women and Child Development(MWCD) to acknowledge the achievements of women for the nation & recognize their contributions towards society.
ii.The winners are from diverse fields namely; agriculture, sports, handicrafts, afforestation and wildlife conservation, Armed Forces and education.
iii.Awardee Bhageerathi Amma appointed a person on her behalf to receive the award due to her health issues.
iv.Those who received awards have contributed in safeguarding women’s rights & also pushed the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
Awardees List
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| S.no | Name | Key Accomplishment | State |
| 1 | Bina Devi or ‘Mushroom Mahila’ | Popularizing mushroom cultivation | Munger , Bihar |
| 2 | Padala Bhudevi | Working for development of Tribal People Through a CAVS (Chinnai Adhivasi Vikas Society), established in 1996 & also helped women to develop entrepreneurship.. | Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh |
| 3 | Arifa Jan | Restored the culture and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir- Founder of Numdha Handicrafts | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir |
| 4 | Chami Murmu or ‘Lady Tarzan’ of Jharkhand | Planted trees & protected local wildlife | Rajnagar, SaraikelaKharsawan, Jharkhand |
| 5 | Nilza Wangmo | First one to serve Ladakh cuisines in her Alchi Kitchen Restaurant & represented Ladakhi recipes in 5-star hotels in India | Leh ,Ladakh |
| 6 | Rashmi Urdhwardeshe | Development of automobile technologies | Pune, Maharashtra |
| 7 | Sardarni Mann Kaur or ‘Miracle from Chandigarh'(103) | Achievements in athletics | Patiala, Punjab |
| 8 | Kalavati Devi- ‘lady mason’ | Built over 4000 toilets & & created awareness regarding the ills of open defecation | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh |
| 9 | Tashi & Nungshi Malik | First female twins to scale Mount Everest in 2013 & also are founders of Nungshi Tashi Foundation which aims to develop mountaineering as sport & to empower girls. | Dehradun, Uttarakhand |
| 10 | Kaushiki Chakroborty | Khayal and Thumri exponent. | Kolkata, West Bengal |
| 11 | Bhageerathi Amma(105) & Karthyayini Amma (96) | Cleared the fourth standard equivalency examination & became the oldest equivalency course student of Kerala.
topped “Akshara Laksham” in 2018 scoring 98/100 marks | Kollam, Alappuzha, Kerala |
| 12 | AvaniChaturvedi,Bhawna Kanth & Mohana Singh Jitarwal (Indian Air Force) | First Indian Women Pilots to take a solo flight in MIG-21 in 2018 | Rewa, Madhya Pradesh Darbhanga, Bihar Agra, Uttar Pradesh |
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About ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’:
It was established in 1991 by MWCD & 1st awarded in 1999. Every year on the occasion of International Women’s Day the award is conferred by the President of India. It is considered as the National Award for Women.
