Women and girls more affected by drought: Maha Governor

Mumbai, Jun 13 The Governor of Maharashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao today observed that women and girls are deeply impacted by poverty, climate change, food insecurity and lack of development and said that even in the ongoing drought in Marathwada, it is women and girls who are more affected by the water crisis than men.

He said sustainable development, involving political, social and economic empowerment was critical in empowering women.

Mentioning that there is greater transparency and lesser corruption when there are more women in government and administration, the Governor called for concerted efforts in increasing the percentage of women in government services and in the private sector jobs.

The Governor was speaking after presenting the Annual Awards of the Indian Merchants' Chamber's Ladies Wing here. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' wife Amruta Fadnavis was also present on the occasion.

Swati Piramal was presented the Woman of the Year Award, while State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya was conferred the Woman of the Year Award for Banking and Financial Service.

Birla Group Director Rajashree Birla was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award while social worker Triveni Acharya was presented the Iconic Woman Award for her work in rescuing women victims of human trafficking. Amruta Fadnavis called for changing the mindset of people towards women. She congratulated the Ladies Wing of the Indian Merchants’ Chamber for its work of women empowerment.

President of the Ladies Wing of Indian Merchants' Chamber Shalini Piramal, IMC President Dilip Piramal, newly-appointed President of the Ladies Wing Radhika Nath and Vice President Nayantara Jain were present. PTI