8 Indian Women Who Have Taken the Business World By Storm: Women’s Day

18 November 2022
5 min read
8 Indian Women Who Have Taken the Business World By Storm: Women’s Day
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I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore

And I’ve been down there on the floor
No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

-Helen Reddy

For as long as we can remember, society has dictated that women must look after domestic/household affairs, while it’s the men who must go out there and take the world down.

Throughout this sitch, women have emerged to prove that they can do anything a man can. From travelling to space and ruling the country to acting and athletics. Women today are more than your regular muse!

And if you thought women are far behind when it comes to business and finance, think again!

In this article, we will talk about 8 exceptional women who took the business and finance world by the furore.

Let’s get started!

8 Indian Women Who Have Taken the Business World By Storm

These 10 women are self-made and have created a name for themselves in the respective industries they’ve tread on. Let’s know more about them.

1. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

Net Worth: 3.2 Billion

Education: Completed her Bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Bangalore University and pursued her Master’s in Fermentation Science from  Federation University, Australia

Occupation: Founder & chairperson of Biocon

Well, no brainer here.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is one of the most influential businesswomen in today’s world and was listed as the 71st most powerful woman in the world, by Forbes.

She was also awarded the Othmer Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to Science and Chemistry.

Her biopharmaceutical company made a revenue of 4,079 crores INR in 2016-17 and it exports its products to more than 120 countries, including the European and American markets.

When asked about how her sharp business sense, she says, “I managed to do things with a lot of common sense, a lot of determination, and a lot of foolish courage”

Are you inspired by her foolish courage? I certainly am.

2. Arundhati Bhattacharya

Education: She studied Literature at Lady Brabourne College and then at Jadavpur University, Calcutta

Occupation: Former Chairman of State Bank of India

Arundhati Bhattacharya is the first chairperson of the State Bank of India. She joined State Bank in 1977 as a Probationary Officer and quickly climbed the ranks.

She worked at SBI for 36 years after which, she succeeded Pradip Chaudhuri as Chairman. Many refer to Mrs Bhattacharya as the “First Women of Banking”.

In 2016, she was named the 25th most powerful woman in the world, by Forbes. She was also accredited as being the 4th most powerful woman in the Asia Pacific by Fortune and in 2018, she was awarded Business Leader of the Year at The Asian Awards.

She retired in October 2017 from SBI and currently serves as an ‘Independent Director of Reliance Industries.

3. Kalpana Morparia

Education: She completed her Bachelors in Science from Sophia College for Women and later pursued a degree in Law.

Occupation: Chief Executive Officer of JP Morgan

Kalpana Morparia started off her career in ICICI, where she first joined their legal department, after which, she was entrusted with various positions at ICICI, including Joint Managing Director.

She was named ‘The 50th Most Powerful Women in International Business’ by Fortune magazine in 2008 and played a crucial role in the merger of ICICI Limited with ICICI Bank.

She currently serves as the CEO of JP Morgan (South and South East Asia) and an Independent Director of Dr Reddy’s Lab.

4. Anu Aga

Net Worth: USD 1.4 Billion

Education: She completed her graduation from St. Xavier’s College with a BA in Economics and pursued a degree in Psychiatric Social Work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Occupation: Former Chairperson: Thermax Ltd

Anu Aga worked at Thermax, wherein she headed the Human Resource Department. After her husband Rohinton Aga expired, she took over as the chairperson of Thermax Ltd.

She has involved herself vastly with social work and was also awarded the Padma Shree for her contribution. She was also nominated to be a member of the Rajya Sabha.

5.  Smitha Crishna

Net Worth: 2.9 Billion

Occupation: Owner of Godrej

Smitha Crishna has a 1/5th stake in Godrej and is the third richest woman in India. She is the third generation of entrepreneur in her family and her net worth stands at a whopping 2.9 billion.

She is regarded for changing various business practices in the Godrej group and is known for her sharp business sense

6. Savitri Jindal

Net Worth: 640 crores USD

Occupation: Chairperson Emiretus, Jindal Steel & Power Limited

Move over the Birlas and Ambanis, because Jindal is here to stay!

Savitri Jindal took the reign of her company when her husband, OP Jindal expired. Today, she is the richest woman in India and was named the 16th richest Indian in 2016.

Once she took over the company, the revenue quadrupled

She is also a politician and had served as the Minister of State for Revenue and Disaster Management, Consolidation, Rehabilitation and Housing and also the Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies and Housing.

7. Indu Jain

Net Worth: USD 3.1 billion

Occupation: Chairperson Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd

Indu Jain can be referred to as one of the pioneers of the media industry. Her company owns the Times of India. Apart from being a brilliant businesswoman, she is also a humanitarian and lover of art and literature.

She is a strong advocate of Indian women empowerment and was the founder and President of the Ladies wing of FICCI (FLO). In January 2016, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

She ranked as the 57th richest woman in India in Forbes 2015 ranking.

8. Falguni Nayar

Education: Completed her Master’s from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad

Occupation: Founder and CEO of Nykaa

Since this is the generation of start-ups, we have to acknowledge the self-made women who have given birth to companies that have changed how Indians perceive and think.

Falguni Nayar, is the Founder and CEO of Nykaa, an online beauty brand. Ms Nayar was formerly the Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Capital Company. The company started in November 2015 and in less than 4 years, it is referred to as one of the best beauty brands in India.

Business Today named Falguni Nayar in The Most Powerful Women in Business 2017. Nayar was also awarded the ‘Woman Ahead’ award at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2017.

Also Read Survey on Changing Investment Habits of Women

Wrapping it Up

These women stood out on the list because each of them ventured into an industry unknown and reformed it for the better. They can truly be called self made-women and their single-minded determination is commendable!

One can only hope that each of us strives ahead to make society better in our own way. Strive to not just become good mothers, sisters and daughters, but, amazing entrepreneurs, philanthropists and investors!

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