Rural woman entrepreneur inspires Jaya Bachchan
(No Ratings Yet)Inspite of having reached the pinnacle in her chosen field of acting, Jaya Bachchan was so impressed by the spirit of a rural woman entrepreneur that she now aspires to try her hand at business and win an award in the field.
Presenting the Jankidevi Bajaj Award for Rural Entrepreneurship today to Hirbaiben Lodi, who hails from one of the remotest areas of Junagadh district of Gujarat, Bachchan said, “I am impressed by her fearlessness and her courage.
“Perhaps if I had to struggle as much as her, I would not have been here today. I have learnt so much from her and have got such strength from her example that I feel I must also do something and try and win this award for entrepreneurship in the future,” Bachchan said in her keynote address here.
“We talk about making Mumbai into another Shanghai, but what about the real India where she comes from? We should try to at least bring that India at par with Mumbai.” Fourty-six-year-old Lodi is credited with promoting women’s groups by dealing with social issues, savings, income generating activity and agriculture. She encouraged entrepreneurship through organic fertilizer manufacturing, neem oil production and animal husbandry.
Criticising the lack of facilities in rural India, Bachchan said, “What are the facilities available to people? Forget basic amenities like water and electricty, people don’t even have the freedom to express their own opinion.” Praising Lodi’s spirit of entreprenuership, she said, “I feel honoured that I was asked to present this award to her. Her spirit and her passion to help the people of her village is amazing and if we compare the way she has achieved so much in spite of struggling so much, she will put many people here to shame.”
— PTI
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