IIT, Patna: 11 February 2025 :: IIT Patna during the Inaugural Session of the International Workshop on “Empowering Female Entrepreneurs in Bihar through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Tools”, I had the privilege of sharing my thoughts as the Chief Guest. Speaking upon the vision for establishment of a developed Bihar within developed India by 2047, I highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship and described why empowering women through ICT tools was very essential for success of the mission.
I mentioned that ICT tools could serve to be very useful for female entrepreneurs in both of the situations, where they could be required to work with or without interaction with a human interface. Elaborating further on the topic, I remarked upon the current state of social transition which is witnessing increased participation of women in all spheres and stated that as we are evolving from an earlier male dominated society to a gender neutral one, ICT tools could be very valuable to ensure safety of women entrepreneurs not only at their workplace but also during their travel or outdoor stay, by digitally providing them with choices of proper selection of response and security mechanisms. Increasing number of women entrepreneurs would also offer new opportunities of entrepreneurship through requirements for creation of exclusively female facilities for travel or stay. For women entrepreneurs preferring to work from home, ICT tools could assist them in minimising the human interface and offer them much needed convenience in business operations.
I suggested a requirement for possible standardisation and certification of products being developed exclusively by female entrepreneurs so that willing consumers could differentiate and be assured about the quality. Sharing the idea behind the establishment of Gargi Chapter under the Let’s Inspire Bihar initiative, I suggested that some institution could possibly come up with some standard like a ‘Gargi Mark’ certificate to ensure standardisation of the product both for the domestic and international market.
It was a pleasure to interact with the Director, IIT, Patna and the faculty members and students of the Department of Humanaities and Social Sciences, which had organised the workshop. I suggested that we could also hold workshops at IIT Patna for startups being run by women in Bihar in collaboration with the Gargi Chapter and thus assist them in enlarging their businesses. Such initiatives by the academia are highly commendable and would definitely be very useful for the economic development of Bihar. Am looking forward as ever ! #LetsInspireBihar
