‘She Inspires Us’: Here’s All You Need To Know About Nari Shakti Puraskar Awardees Of The Year

President Ram Nath Kovind presented the ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’ to 15 women achievers in Rashtrapati Bhawan on the occasion of International Women's Day today (8 March), reports India Today.

The award has been instituted by the Government of India to recognise the exceptional work accomplished by individuals towards women empowerment. It is to be awarded once each year. The award especially aims to honour the work done towards empowerment of vulnerable and marginalised women.

104-year-old Mann Kaur was awarded Nari Shakti Puraskar from the President for her achievements in athletics. She is also known as 'Miracle from Chandigarh' and started her athletic career at the age of 93. She has won more than 20 medals across the globe and has been associated with the Fit India movement.

President Kovind also presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar to Flt Lt Avani Chaturvedi, Flt Lt Bhawanna Kanth and Flt Lt Mohana Singh. They became the first Indian women fighter pilots to fly a MIG-21 Bison in 2018.

Kaushiki Chakroborty who got the recognition hails from Kolkata and is an Indian classical vocalist and one of the exponents of Khayal and Thumri. She is also a Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee in 2010.

President Ram Nath Kovind also presented 'Nari Shakti Puruskar' to Bihar's Bina Devi. She is known as ‘Mushroom Mahila’ for popularising mushroom cultivation. She has trained farmers on mushroom farming, organic farming, vermin-compost production, organic insecticide preparation at home. She was also the Sarpanch of Dhauri Panchayat, Tetiabamber block for 5 years.

Padala Bhudevi from Telangana has been working for the development of tribal women, widows and Podu lands through a community-based organisation called Chinnai Adhivasi Vikas Society. The organisation was established back in 1996.

President Kovind also presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar to Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik from Dehradun, Uttarakhand. They are the first female twins to scale the Mount Everest in 2013. They also founded Nungshi Tashi Foundation to develop mountaineering as a sport and empower girls.

President Kovind awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar jointly to Ninety six-year-old Karthiyani Amma and 105-year-old Bhageerathi Amma from Alappuzha, Kerala. Kathiyani Amma appeared for writing the fourth standard equivalency course under Kerala Literacy Mission and bagged the first rank and scored 98 per cent marks.

They are an inspiration to millions of people who wish to be a part of literacy programme and seem to define the saying, “It’s never too late to start”.

Smt Rashmi Urdhwardeshe from Pune, Maharashtra is an automotive and R&D professional since 36 years. She has been recognised for promoting women empowerment and for helping to increase women’s employment ratio in auto industry.

Nilza Wangmo from Leh is an entrepreneur who is running Alchi Kitchen restaurant. The restaurant is the first one to serve traditional Ladakhi cuisines including some exquisite and forgotten recipes. She has sportingly represented Ladakhi recipes in 5-star hotels in India.

Kalavati Devi, 60, a resident of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, is a mason and on a mission - to build toilets across all slums and lower income neighbourhoods and and a driving force towards reducing open defecation in her city.

A hardworking, mother of two married girls, she has had a long association with Shramik Bharti, a local NGO that works on sanitation issues. She is responsible for building 4000 + toilets in villages in and around Kanpur.

President Kovind also presented the Nari Shakti Puraskar to Smt Chami Murmu. She is known as the 'Lady Tarzan' of Jharkhand for her determination to protect the forests, local wildlife and improve the livelihood of locals.

She had successfully planted more than 25 lakh trees with the forest department and has actively worked towards protecting local wildlife.

Arifa Jan, hailing from Srinagar, has been recognised for her attempts to revive the culture and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. Braving all the odds, she has taken up the daunting task to revive the Numdha handicraft. She has employed more than 25 Kashmiri artisans and trained more than 100 women.

It should be noted that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will also be holding an interaction with all the awardees at his residence today.