The Brahma Kumaris is a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s. The Brahma Kumaris movement was founded by Lekhraj Kripalani. Women continue to hold primary leadership positions within the organisation.
Suresh Oberoi is an Indian actor and politician who appeared in Hindi films. He is a recipient of the 1987 National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. He started his career in radio shows, modelling and later moving to Bollywood, making him a popular character actor in the 1980s and much of the 1990s. He is the father of actor Vivek Oberoi.
The Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is the highest civilian honour for women in India, and is presented by the president of India on International Women's Day at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The award was instituted in 1999 under the title of Stree Shakti Puraskar, renamed and reorganised in 2015. It is awarded in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a cash prize of 200,000 and 100,000 rupees, respectively.
Ritu Vasu Primlani is an Indian stand-up comedian and environmentalist. She received the 2015 Nari Shakti Puraskar from the Government of India for her work.
Ishqbaaaz (transl. Lovers)(international title :Game of love ) is an Indian romantic drama television series that aired from 27 June 2016 to 15 March 2019 on Star Plus. It initially starred Nakuul Mehta, Surbhi Chandna, Kunal Jaisingh, Shrenu Parikh, Leenesh Mattoo and Mansi Srivastava. In December 2018, the show took a generation leap and aired a new season, Ishqbaaz: Pyaar Ki Ek Dhinchak Kahaani starring Nakuul Mehta and Niti Taylor.
Rashmi Urdhwardeshe born Rashmi Ranade is an Indian automotive engineer. She is the director of the Automotive Research Association of India. In March 2020 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar
B. Codanayaguy is an Electronics & Instrumentation Engineer at the ISRO. She is responsible for the instrumentation of control systems for the solid rocket motors used in rocket launches. She was given the highest award for women in India, the Nari Shakti Puraskar, at the Presidential Palace in 2017.
Mini Vasudevan is an Indian animal rights activist based in Coimbatore. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2019.
Chami Murmu is an Indian environmental activist and is known for planting trees in India. She had planted 2,500,000 trees in India till she was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2019.
Latika Thukral is an Indian banker who transformed her city, in particular Aravali Biodiversity Park in Gurgaon. where a million native trees were planted by the group #IAmGurgaon. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Award in 2015 by the President of India.
Subha Varier is an Indian space engineer. She has specialised in the video systems used on Indian satellite launches. In 2017 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India's highest award for women after the record release of 104 satellites in one launch.
Lizymol Philipose Pamadykandathil is an Indian dental materials scientist. Her work has been recognised with a Nari Shakti Puraskar - the highest civilian honour exclusively for women in India.
Rashmi Anand is an Indian activist and writer concerned about domestic violence. The President of India awarded her the Nari Shakti Puraskar. This is the highest award for women in India. She founded the "Woman of the Elements Trust" which supplies support to victims of domestic abuse in Delhi.
Rhea Mazumdar Singhal is an Indian entrepreneur creating biodegradable disposable products. Her awards include the Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Neha Kirpal is a social entrepreneur who worked extensively at the intersection of creative arts and social sector. She founded of the India Art Fair in 2008. She sold her interest in the Fair after ten years. In 2019, Kirpal and Dr. Amit Malik co-founded Amaha, a mental health organization.
Suparna Baksi Ganguly is an Indian activist concerned with the treatment of animals and in particular elephants that are held captive. She was given the highest award for women in India, the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016.
K. Syamalakumari aka Syamala Kumari is an Indian temple painter. This was an occupation traditionally carried out by men. Her work includes painting at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Kerala. She has been awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Dr. M.S. Sunil is an Indian Academician, Humanist and Philanthropist known for housing the homeless. She founded Dr. M.S. Sunil Foundation in December, 2016 in Pathanamthitta, with five trust members and six volunteers. Her works focuses to uplift the living conditions of impoverished families/ communities, her philanthropist and non- profit programmes aim to provide safe houses and healthy food to build a compassionate environment with enlightened mind on renewable energy and conservation of natural habitat by including every communities including Tribal and socially underprivileged with less or no inequality. She was acknowledged by the Government of India and was the recipient of many honours, including the Nari Shakti Puraskar- 2017 which is considered as the Government of India's highest civilian honour for women.
Krishna Yadav is an Indian entrepreneur. She is known for her successful pickle business venture, which she started after receiving training from Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Delhi. Over several years she sold pickles at the roadside and gradually turned her venture into four different entities with a turnover of 40 million INR. She was awarded the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2016.
Sandhya Dhar is an Indian disability rights activist. She was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at an early age and is a wheelchair user. She founded the Jammu Institute of General Education and Rehabilitation (JIGER) in 2015 to support disabled people and was awarded the 2020 Nari Shakti Puraskar.
