GUWAHATI, March 13 � The first �Vasundhara - NE Woman Entrepreneur of the Year (2012-13)� award was conferred on Lalmuankimi of Mizoram at a function at the Pragjyoti ITA Centre for Performing Arts on Wednesday evening.
Jayanti Patnaik, First Lady of Assam, gave away the award to Lalmuankimi, an innovator entrepreneur from Aizawl who has made remarkable strides in the sphere of business and entrepreneurship with her herbal medicinal products branded as KC Face Pack.
The award consists of a trophy, a citation, an eri shawl and a cheque of Rs 25,000.
The programme also saw seven other enterprising women from the seven other States of the North East, including Sikkim, being awarded with State awards for excellence in their business initiatives.
Patnaik, in her address, congratulated the winners and lauded the efforts of Sreemanta Sankar Mission of Guwahati for instituting the award to identify and honour the woman entrepreneurs of the region.
She said that despite mounting pressure from various women-based organisations and institutions, the Women�s Reservation Bill could not be passed till date because the Parliament of India was dominated by males.
Patnaik also urged the women of the North East to carry forward their enterprising efforts besides struggling hard to achieve their chosen goals.
The event was attended by a number of high-level officials from several top government institutions of the North East.
The State awardees were Yangchen Doma Lepcha (Sikkim), Hemaprava Devi (Assam), Basamly Krisikro (Arunachal Pradesh), H Lemei Phom (Nagaland), RK Ongbi Purnima Devi (Manipur), and Marina Marak (Meghalaya). The State winner from Tripura, Santa Debnath, could not attend the programme. The winners were awarded with a trophy, a citation and an eri shawl each.
Those who were present on the occasion and gave away the award to the State winners included Brigadier SK Thapa, Deputy GOC, HQ 51 Sub Area; Dayanand Jha, Additional General Manager, NF Railway; C. Lalrosanga, ADG, Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation of India; PSRK Sudhakar, Regional Executive Director, Airport Authority of India; Rahul Rohatgi, General Manager, SIDBI; Ronel Kumar, General Manager, NHPC Ltd; Vineeta Singh, president, NFR Women�s Organisation; and Sankar Prasad Kakoti Bora, Regional Director, ICCR NE.
The function also saw felicitation of the panelists selecting the winners. Those who were felicitated by Sreemanta Sankar Mission of Guwahati included Dr Amiya Sharma, Executive Director, Rashtriya Gramin Vikas Nidhi; BB Sangma, Director, IIBM, Guwahati; Jayanta Kumar Mahanta, CGM, NSIC Ltd; Dr Abhijit Sharma, Associate Professor, IIBM, Guwahati; Dr Sriparna B Baruah, Head, CIE, IIE, Guwahati; and Aneeta Dutta, Assistant Director, RGVN.
Dr. Amiya Sharma and BB Sangma also spoke briefly during the function and praised the winners for their business acumen, enterprising abilities and social commitment.
Judy Manners, senior executive, M/s ruralshores.com, Bangalore and Topu Baser Ete, chairperson, GPTI, Along, Arunachal Pradesh, were also felicitated for their excellence in business and enterprise.
The programme was also collaborated by ICCR, Northeast. A number of classical dance items showcasing the rich culture and tradition of the eight States of the North-east were presented.
