

A Green Chulha for Rural India
The Greenway Smart Stove emits 70 per cent less smoke and uses 65 per cent less biomassA handful of female directors are striving to change the way women are now presented on screen.GIC's Alice Vaidyan, who is reaping the benefit of 'new crop' insurance, has also prepared the organisation for its first-ever IPO Some people in the areas where check dams are built had not even seen how wheat is grown. Now they cultivate wheat.Sustainable fashion and responsible shopping are the way to goAnjuly Chib Duggal has been the driving force behind several big initiatives of the government. Aruna Jayanthi is leading efforts to shift the business to newer areas. Recent global events have shown a surge in protectionism, nationalism and nativism.Renana Jhabvala has taken SEWA to 14 states and set up co-operative bank and housing finance company.From soap operas to films and now edgy digital content, Ekta Kapoor has proved her versatility.The 'Nirbhaya' incident was the trigger that made D'Silva take up women's issues.Agile innovations and relevant business models are keeping the business ahead of the competition.Falguni Nayak's goal is to build Nykaa as an omni-channel, pan-India beauty brand. Gayathri Vasudevan provides skilling and ignites entrepreneurship in people at the bottom of the pyramid.Early-stage risk capital can accelerate the growth of social enterprises.Zaveri believes in commitments and nurturing young women leaders The fight for freedom has been carried out for 25 years to save innocent lives from human traffickers.Jayashree Vyass Mahila Sewa Bank aims to financially empower a million women in the next three years.The foundation helps acid attack survivors and doubles up as a home away from home Meena Ganesh's latest home medical care start-up is going places.As women are climbing the corporate ladder, another set is making an impact at the grassroots level. It was tough finding the gems among them.Godrej Cosumer sees a 20-fold rise in market-cap under the Godrej family scion.Bringing Change at the Grassroots
Her Reliance Foundation has improved lives of 12 million peoplePadmaja Ruparel wants to mobilise Rs 5,000 crore in 10 years and deploy that in 500 companies. The aim is to build a robust start-up ecosystem.The most high-profile engagement in 2016 was the repetitive wins for Tata Sons and Ratan Tata in the rather bitter Tata-versus-Mistry battle.Pooja Warier Hamilton helps social entrepreneurs find their feet.Since Preethi Herman took over, the number of petitions on Change.org has risen from 50 a month to 2,000.Her efforts to update the VIP brand are showing results.She bestrides the divergent worlds of manufacturing sugar and the arts with elan.Reema Sathes venture is raising farmers incomes, reviving indigenous grain varieties.Rekha Menon is taking Accenture into the future by re-training the workforce. Ruchi Mathur brings together experts and funding to solve the problems of Pune city.Millions of girls in India are denied education as society sees them as a liability.Samina Vaziralli, who quit her job to be a homemaker, finds herself running the Rs 14,630 crore Cipla.Schauna Chauhan Saluja is revamping Parle Agro, improving technology and extending its reach. Children are not our future; they are our present, and they need to be empowered now.Shanti Ekambaram is scaling up consumer banking by increasing throughput from ING Vysya branches and digital offerings.Shanti Raghavan gave up a high-flying corporate career to work at skilling the disabled and finding them jobs.Enabling differently abled people go about their daily life seamlessly should be the next milestone for innovative companies.PFA does not believe in euthanasia and gives animals a fighting chance to survive.Under Sonali Kulkarni, FANUC is helping manufacturers automate in a big way.Reddy has steered Apollo Hospitals through turbulent times.Rescue is a small part of the anti-trafficking activity and what matters most is rehabilitation.The environmental battle is one of David against the Goliaths of the government and the corporate world.The India head of Advent International believes in transforming companies where they invest.A poor and self-taught tribal woman has become an education activist.Usha Sangwan has ushered technology into LIC - and the results are showing.Vani Kola has an amazing knack of spotting opportunities early.Though real estate, cement's main consumer, is in the doldrums, Vinita has ensured her company thrives.Apart from leading IBM, Vanitha Narayanan is part of several initiatives to build a digital India.The listing expert is working overtime to launch HDFC Lifes IPO.Vishakha Mulye has been focusing on loan growth and faster resolution of stressed assets.Zarin Daruwala is aggressively expanding into retail banking and creating building blocks for the next phase of quality growth.



