“Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Reliance Foundation among participants”
Panjim: Goa Chief Minister, Dr Pramod Sawant affirmed the Goa Government’s commitment to collaborate with NITI Aayog in pursuit of the ‘Developed India 2047’ vision when he delivered his keynote address at the NITI Aayog-organisedFirst-Ever Workshop on Women-Led Development in Goa recently.
This historic event marked a significant step towards realizing the goal of ‘Developed India 2047’ set forth by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.NITI Aayog plans to organize 40 to 50 such workshops across India by March, underscoring its dedication to women-led development and the nation’s overall progress.
The Chief Minister Sawant shared insights and perspectives on women-led development in the region, while addressing Women Business Leaders from Western India during the NITI-State Workshop that highlighted ‘Enabling Women-Led Development’ on enabling women-led development and reaching the last mile.
Highlighting significant progress in various sectors through the ‘Swayampoorna Goa’ initiative, Sawant also announced the upcoming launch of ‘Swayampoorna e-Bazar’ by Dussehra to facilitate sale of products by women entrepreneurs, including food items and also handloom products.
The Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) had incubated in NITI Aayog, and then into a public-private partnership as a one-stop solution for information and services relevant to women entrepreneurs, offering a wide range of resources, including the +SmartMatch+ feature for government schemes and private sector initiatives, a knowledge base, a community page, and a mentorship module.
This speakerslineup includedGoa Chief Minister, Dr VK Saraswat, Member NITI Aayog, B.V.R Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog, Sulakshana Sawant, President, Goa state women SHGs, besides representatives of organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Reliance Foundation, Piramal Foundation, ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India), SIDBI, Ola Foundation, and others.
The inaugural workshop witnessed Dr Chintan Vaishnav, Chair of +Startup20 India+ and Mission Director at +Atal Innovation Mission+, delivering a “TED Talk” focusing on importance of inclusion and diversity within the “global startup ecosystem, particularly within the Group of Twenty (G20) nations.”
Dr VK Saraswat, a Member of NITI Aayog, delivered the inaugural address, emphasizing the Government of India’s initiative towards balanced growth through women-led development.
Several significant initiatives announced during the session, included“Udyam Uplift” by CAXpert, the AIC-GIM-WEP collaboration known as “We Nurture,” and the ATR program for Goa entrepreneurs, besides launch of a partnership between ICAI and NITI Aayog.
The State Support Mission, an umbrella initiative by NITI Aayog, is strategically designed to support states and union territories in achieving their socioeconomic goals by 2047. Under the State Support Mission, a series of workshops are being conducted to provide a platform for Centre-State exchanges and forging partnerships.
This workshop marks the commencement of the WEP State Workshop series with primary goal being augmentation of awareness regarding the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) and unveiling a range of pioneering initiatives that WEP has embarked upon including introduction of support cohorts tailored for green women entrepreneurs.
The workshop witnessed engaging fireside chats and deep dive discussions exploring topics such as mentoring, skill development, access to finance, and compliance.
Highlighting India’s position as the +world’s fifth-largest economy+,NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subramanian urged all stakeholders to work diligently towards achieving the goal of a developed India and assured NITI Aayog’s assistance to states through financial support and infrastructure development.
Dr. VK Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog, emphasized three key priorities: maintaining the employment-to-education ratio, promoting women’s entrepreneurship, and restructuring the workforce.
The workshop witnessed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) being signed between NITI Aayog and prominent institutions, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Goa Institute of Management, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), and Microsave Consulting.
