Golden Signatures in association with Mata Sundri College for Women organises India@G20 Impact Assessment Summit 2023 in Delhi
- ‘’Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in parliament globally, with women holding 61.3% of seats in the Lower House and 38.5% of seats in the Upper House.”: Mukangira Jacqueline, High Commissioner of Rwanda
- ‘’India has enormous potential in the Solar Energy sector and very soon it will be used to make Green Hydrogen.’’: P. R. Swarup, DG, Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), Govt of India
- TERI – The Energy and Resources Institute is actively promoting the E-Mobility movement with sustainability as its core focus and it has developed the Green Mobility Library with the support of GIZ recently.”: Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General of TERI
- “Whatever Safari and Hariers you see on India Roads are made by women. We have three lines of Assembling where over 1500 women are making the Electric Cars’’: Sushant Naik, Global Head – Govt & Public Affairs, Tata Motors and also Chairman SIAM-Electric Mobility Group.
- “Women are not only buying Electric Vehicles, they are also working towards the electrification of mobility. Thousands of women in India are making great contributions every day in electric mobility which is a significant improvement in women empowerment. E-Mobility makes women more empowered as it is associated with skilling, entrepreneurship and greater job opportunities. Shri Sudhendu J. Sinha, Adviser, NITI Aayog.
By Our Correspondent
New Delhi, May 30, 2023: They took the famous ‘Five Pledge’ to keep our planet green by wearing green colored scarf, released a Book consisting articles on E-Mobility Skilling & Entrepreneurship written by faculties of Mata Sundri College for Women, Delhi, had three power packed sessions on the Role, Challenges and Opportunity for Women in Entrepreneurship & Employability in the E-Mobility domain, shown two short Films on E-Mobility and finally also conferred very selected 15 personalities and institutions with the most prestigious –Ambassador of Green Planet Awards. This was indeed one of the most exclusive events held without any pump and show in the media but huge grace, sincerity and quality.
The Summit, organised by Golden Signatures, in association with Mata Sundri College for Women titled – ‘India @ G20: Impact Assessment Summit 2023 – A New Dialogue with Women on E-Mobility, Skilling & Entreprenureship’ saw participation from several top E-Mobility Companies and leaders of Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, mahindra Last Mile Mobility, IESA, Sanvaru Technologies and senior Bureaucrats from MEA, NITI AAYOG, TERI, Invest India, Invest Bihar, CIDC, Govt of UP, Govt of Karnataka, Govt of West Bengal, Association of Indian Universities, RiTES and also from foreign Embassies.
While addressing Women Exclusive Session, H.E. Ms. Mukangira Jacqueline, High Commissioner of Rwanda gave the example of her own country Rwanda, which has made significant strides in women’s political representation, with the highest percentage of women in parliament globally. ‘Rwanda has the highest percentage of women in parliament globally, with women holding 61.3% of seats in the Lower House (Chamber of Deputies) and 38.5% of seats in the Upper House (Senate). Women’s representation in politics in India is much lower than Rwanda. In India as of 2021, women held around 14.4% of seats in the Lok Sabha and around 24% of seats in the Rajya Sabha.India can learn from Rwanda’s successful implementation of gender quotas and policies that promote women’s participation in politics and decision-making roles,’ – Ms. Mukangira said.
Presenting his Keynote address in the Conference, Shri Sudhendu J. Sinha, Adviser, NITI Aayog, Govt of India talked about the enormous opportunities for women in the E-Mobility sector. Mr Sinha said, “Women are not only buying Electric Vehicles, they are also working towards the electrification of mobility. Thousands of women in India are making great contributions every day in electric mobility which is a significant improvement in women empowerment. E-Mobility makes women more empowered as it is associated with skilling, entrepreneurship and greater job opportunities. It also increases women’s decision-making ability, mobility, financial autonomy, reproductive freedom and social participation. It has already been reported in the media that for every 10 new hires in the EV sector, six tend to be women skilled in business modelling, design redevelopment, e-mobility and renewable energy management.”
Ambassador Anup K Mudgal, former High Commissioner of India to Mauritius and a member of FICCI Task Force on Blue Economy while addressing the valedictory session said, Women’s economic empowerment remains at the heart of India’s G20 agenda. The G20 under India’s presidency has taken steps to take forward India’s women-led development agenda through the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (EMPOWER) which is an alliance of G20 business leaders and governments to accelerate women’s leadership and empowerment in the private sector.We know that the G20 gathers the world’s most developed economies and emerging ones, which together account for more than 80 percent of global GDP, 75 percent of international trade, and 60 percent of global population. But simultaneously the G20 economies are also responsible for about 75 to 80 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. That’s why Environment protection through E-Mobility can yield multiple environmental and economic gains and drive India’s clean energy transition. Across the globe, momentum is building to increase the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), and India is no exception. Also, in order to make women self-dependent, there is a need to promote skill development among women in non-traditional areas like E-Mobility etc. Already women in India, who play a significant role in raising voice against environmental degradation with the advancement of education and technology, are now emerging as the preferred choice in India’s burgeoning electric vehicle (EV) industry with legacy companies as well as start-ups seeking better gender balance at workplaces.
Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General of TERI emphasized the abundance of women opportunities that can be unlocked through education and skills, inspiring the audience to make the most of them. Talking about the activities of TERI – The Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi, Dr. Vibha Dhawan elaborated how TERI is actively promoting the E-Mobility movement with sustainability as its core focus and how it has developed the Green Mobility Library with the support of GIZ recently.
Mr Sushant Naik, Global Head – Govt & Public Affairs, Tata Motors and also Chairman SIAM-Electric Mobility Group talked about the Role of Women in making of Electric Vehicles at Tata Motors. He said, “Whatever Safari and Hariers you see on India Roads are made by women. We have three lines of Assembling where over 1500 women are making the Electric Cars.’’ He also shown a film on how successfully women are taking lead role in such hardworking area which was traditionally dominated by the men only and said, “It is a very good example –and in Hindi aptly said in the film that –“Ye Mehndi wale Hath Nahi –Ye Mehnat Wale Hath Hain”, and I really liked that. It is just one example of how women are breaking the glass ceiling in the auto sector. And I am sure it will continue in the future also.” At the end he said, ”India is witnessing a major transformation in Electric Mobility to achieve the national goal of decarbonisation and energy Security and this transformation will bring huge opportunities in terms of jobs and entrepreneurship especially for women.”
Shri P. R. Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC), Govt of India said my own two five feet tall daughters are working in Oil and PetroChemical Industry in US shouting on six feet tall formen saying – @Jim, if you are going to mess up again, I am gonna throw out from this window.“ He laughed and proudly said, “This is Women Empowerment. He lauded the role of Tata Motors for giving due opportunities to the Women as shown in the Company’s film.
While saying, “We are proud to be in a country which is likely to become the largest energy producer in the world, the only difference is, now we will be talking about Green Hydrogen as the fuel. The first disruptors will be the Transportation and Construction Industry. Very soon you are going to see that Metroes and vehicular traffic run by Hydrogen fuels,” Dr. Swarup said. He also talked about enormous potential in the Solar Energy sector and said that potential will be now used to make Green Hydrogen. He again lauded Tata Motors for replacing coal and starting use of Green Hydrogen in their plants in Jharkhand very recently.
Since the main focus of this Summit was – E-Mobility, Skilling & Entrepreneurship and the sub topics on the Challenges of Clean Environment and Education & Opportunity for Women in Entrepreneurship & Employability, several speakers opined that “global development is not possible without women’s participation.” Some of the prominent experts in the first panel included Sh. D V Shastry, Executive Director, Natural Gas Society and former Executive Director, GAIL, a Maharatna Company; Dr. Indradip Mitra, Manager, Indo-German Development Project, GIZ, India, New Delhi; Mr. R.K. Shrivastava, Advisor, Electric EVA & Danish Consortium for Academic Craftsmanship, New Delhi and Mr. Amit Das, CEO-Electric One, Gurugram, Haryana.
Mr. Yash Pal Sacchar, Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Ashok Leyland, who was also in this power packed high profile panel, said that his company Ashok Leyland, the Indian flagship of the Hinduja Group, is also giving due importance and opportunities to women in making E-Vehicles. “We have recently launched a new – ‘All Women production Line’ with 100% women employees at the Hosur plant. Ashok Leyland has set up this line with 80 women employees at their Hosur plant to promote women empowerment and attract more women to the manufacturing industry.” Mr. Ruchir Shukla, former advisor, E-Mobility, Shakti Foundation moderated the panel.
Prof. Charan Singh, CEO and founder, EGROW foundation and former Chairperson P&S bank, talked about the theme of G20 Presidency “One Earth One Family One Future” reflecting upon the world as one family. Dr Charan Singh, Former Chairman, Punjab & Sind Bank said that “Women are more transparent and honest in compliance of Taxation.
The summit witnessed the presence of more than 35 eminent panel speakers and 50 distinguished personalities across industry, academia, College governing body and government organizations.
The Summit started with a welcome address by Prof. Harpreet Kaur, Principal, Mata Sundri College for Women, University of Delhi, New Delhi. Prof. Harpreet Kaur welcomed the eminent guests with a token of her gratitude and reflected upon the G20 logo in her speech.
The summit took place at India International Center, New Delhi, on May 25, 2023.
On this occasion, a special Booklet on the Role and Opportunities for Women in E-Mobility sector, jointly prepared by Golden Signatures and Commerce faculty of Mata Sundri College, was also released.
S. Prithipal Singh Sawhney, S. H.S. Nag, Prof. Rawail Singh, and S. Kulbir Singh, from the College governing body, uplifted the summit with their inspiring words, motivating the participants. Mr. Ravi Mohan from P&S Bank, Ms. Priyal Bhardwaj, State Vice-President-BJP, Mahila Morcha, Dr. Alok K. Mishra, Joint Secretary, AIU, and S. Harinderjeet Singh from Frankfinn Corpexcel, Dr. P.K. Bhattacharya, ENVIS Coordinator, Fellow & Head, Knowledge Management Division, TERI, Delhi; Prof. Subhash Ghosh, Eternal University, Baru Sahib, Himachal Pradesh; Sh. Pooran Chand Sarin, CMD, BKP Media Vision, Noida also delivered their remarks during the summit.
The people present in the auditorium took a pledge to keep their planet green by wearing green colored scarves. Mr. Onkareshwar Pandey, Founder-Commonwealth Thought Leaders Forum, made the people to take an oath to keep the planet green by saying -‘Go green’, ‘Breathe clean’, ‘Stop polluting the environment’, ‘Save our planet’ and ‘Think before you trash it’. Dignitaries and participants at the summit also took Oath for Mission LiFE, symbolizing their commitment to adopting an environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Principal Prof. Harpreet Kaur concluded the sessions with a Vote of Thanks, expressing gratitude for the valuable insights shared by the speakers, recognizing the efforts of Mr. Onkareshwar Pandey from Golden Signatures, and appreciating the dedicated work of the College faculty, which contributed to the tremendous success of the program.
The Women Exclusive Panel focussed on the theme – ‘’From Women Development To Women Led Development -New Opportunities For Women In Sustainability’’ and all participants were engaged in exciting discussions on key areas including skill development, capacity building, access to finance, technology innovation, and policy frameworks that can facilitate the inclusion and growth of women in this emerging industry. Some of them also talked about India’s initiatives in promoting gender diversity and inclusion in the electric mobility sector, including skill development programs, financial support mechanisms, and policy frameworks that encourage women-led entrepreneurship and innovation.
The prominent high profile women experts and guests who participated in this Women Exclusive Panel included, H.E. Ms. Mukangira Jacqueline, High Commissioner of Rwanda to India, New Delhi; Dr. Vibha Dhawan, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute – TERI (Online); Ms Suruchi Bhadwal, Director, Earth Science and Climate Change Division, New Delhi; Dr. Urvashi Makkar, Director – PGDM & MBA, Accurate Institute of Management and Technology, Gr. Noida; Ms. Dolly Parikh, Innovation Fellow, Santa Clara’s Miller Center, USA (Online); Ms Sujata Sawant, Chief General Manager, RITES Ltd, Gurgaon; Prof. Rupam Kapoor, Professor, Deptt of Botany, DU, (Member, Governing Body, MSC), New Delhi; Prof. Namita Rajput, Professor, Deptt of Commerce, Aurobindo College , DU, New Delhi; Prof. Dr. Sonali Mishra, Lloyd Group of Law, Greater Noida; Dr. Meena Mishra, Oncologist, Chairperson, Brain Behaviour Research Foundation of India (BBRFI), New Delhi; Ms Shailza Taneja, Independent Consultant UNSDGs, Worked with the United Nations,New Delhi; Prof. Jyotsna Pandit, HoD, Krishna Engineering College, Ghaziabad, UP; Ms. Rekha Sharma, Secretary General, India-Nigeria Business Council, Noida; Ms Archana Narain, Principal, The Indian Heights School, Dwarka, New Delhi.