A look at some of India’s superwomen

New Delhi: Across industries and segments women have made their way to the top. Undoubtedly with the odds stacked against them it’s a tall order, but these women make it look easy. Get inspired to dream big and achieve your goals with our list of superwomen.

Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone is one of the highest-paid and most successful actresses in Bollywood. She began her career with the ‘Om Shanti Om’ and has since appeared in hits such as ‘Baajirao Mastani’, ‘Piku’, ‘Ram Leela’, ‘Padmavaat’, and others.

For her projects, it is rumoured that Padukone charges around Rs 30 crore and has many brand endorsements to her name. She has a strong personality and a large fan base both in India and abroad.

Ritu Kumar

Veteran designer Ritu Kumar shaped the fashion industry to what it is today. Being one of the very first designers in India, she continues to promote Indian textiles and rafts across categories of fashion, home & living. Her designs have also been worn by the late Princess of Wales, Diana, as well as celebrities such as Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Madhuri Dixit Nene and Jemima Goldsmith.

Aishwarya Sridhar

If you haven’t been living under a rock in 2020, you’ve probably heard of this young talented photographer. She is the first Indian woman to be honoured as Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The winning image, titled ‘Lights of Passion,’ was chosen from 50,000 submissions from over 80 countries around the world!

Falguni Nayar

Falguni Nayar, the founder and CEO of Nykaa, is undoubtedly on the top of our minds when it comes to women leaders. The entrepreneur has been the talk of the town since Nykaa’s recent stock exchange listing. She is one of only 24 women whose companies have reached the IPO stage.

Nayar’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2012, when Nayar decided to leave her job as Managing Director at Kotak Mahindra Capital and pursue a career in the online beauty industry. Nine years later, not only was Nykaa’s INR 5,352 crore IP nearly 82.5 times oversubscribed, but its shares debuted at INR 2,001. Nykaa is also India’s first unicorn startup headed by a woman.

Arundhati Bhattacharya: Chairperson, The State Bank of India (SBI)

She is not only the first woman to lead a Fortune 500 company based in India, but Forbes has also named her the 25th most powerful woman in the world.

At the age of 22, she joined SBI as a probationary officer (PO) in 1977. She has taken some excellent initiatives to make it easier for women to work in the sector. She instituted a two-year sabbatical policy for female employees to care for children or the elderly. On International Women’s Day, she decided to provide free cervical cancer screening to all of her female employees.

Tania Sachdev

Few people are aware that Tania is India’s most prominent female chess players, with numerous titles to her name. Sachdev started playing at the age of six and holds titles of International Master and Woman Grandmaster. In addition to playing, she now works as a chess presenter and a commentator.

Punita Arora

Punita Arora, who was born into a Punjabi family that moved to Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh during Partition, is the first woman in India to hold the second-highest rank, Lieutenant General of the Indian Armed Forces, as well as Vice Admiral of the Indian Navy. Previously, she was the commandant of the Armed Forces Medical College in 2004, making her the institute’s first female leader. As additional director-general of Armed Forces Medical Services, she also coordinated medical research for the armed forces (AFMS). Later, she transferred from the Army to the Navy because the AFMS has a common pool that allows officers to move from one service to another based on their needs. (IANS)