Rhea Mazumdar Singhal | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1982 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | Bristol, Oxford and Harvard Universities |
| Occupation(s) | Founder & CEO, Ecoware |
| Known for | young entrepreneur with Nari Shakti Puraskar award |
Rhea Mazumdar Singhal (born 1982) is an Indian entrepreneur creating biodegradable disposable products. Her awards include the Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Singhal was born in Mumbai in 1982. She was educated at Bristol, Oxford and Harvard Universities. She spent time in London and Dubai and returned to India in 2009. She had worked in sales for the London office of the Pfizer pharmaceutical company and she was surprised to see so much plastic being disposed of without a thought for recycling. In May 2009 she started a $1m company to create biodegradable products in India. [1]
She retained 20 employees and she went out to market her products but she got a poor reception. [1] Her products would biodegrade in soil in 90 days [2] and this compared with normal plastic where the first straw every human uses is in a landfill somewhere. [1]
Her company creates a large range of disposable items like cutlery and plates. They are made from waste from the cereal industry. One of the important customers she has gained has been Indian Railways. [3]
In 2019 she was given the 'Woman Strength Award' (Nari Shakti Puraskar) for "pioneering the sustainable food packaging industry" in India. She was chosen from over 1,000 who were nominated. [4] The awards were made at the Presidential Palace, the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. She was one of over 40 women to receive the Nari Shakti Puraskar which is the highest civilian honour especially for women in India. The award was made by the President of India – Ramnath Kovind. [5]
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.
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