Lalita Debi Shing, Owner, Jay Hanuman Paper Plates, based in the remote Amlabhata village in Rayagada district of Odisha state was recognised under the Medium Enterprise Category at the Vijayalakshmi Das Entrepreneurship Awards for 2020, instituted by SATYA MicroCapital, a Reserve Bank of India registered NBFC Micro Finance Institution. Lalita’s unit is an avenue of employment generation for local youth and underprivileged women. Lalita employs seven women directly, and has trained around 30 widows, school dropouts, elderly indigenous women, and adolescent girls, by giving them an opportunity to work at her unit on a part-time basis, helping them learn easy tasks, such as pasting or arranging finished products. She is thus helping develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in this remote rural village that affords few opportunities for gainful employment.

It’s 2022 already, the world is smaller than it ever was, connected through various innovative means. And yet, the phrase “Women in STEM” draws out a collective sigh. The percentage of women in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce is under 30%. Considered a male-dominated field, even more so in India, not many decisions made by women to enter the field of the sciences are welcomed by all. Luckily for Amruta Mangale from Pune, she was born into a family that did not feel the same way. She completed her Masters in Organic Chemistry from Indapur district in Pune, well supported in her decision by her middle-class family, despite their struggles. The real challenge for Amruta started post her education when she started looking for a job. Even with a Masters degree, she could only secure a job in the quality control department of a local dairy in her district. Her salary was INR 10,000 a month.