“ZENPod” Season-3, episode 1, featuring Smt. Chetna Gala Sinha, an Activist, Farmer and a Banker. Recipient of the Nari Shakti Puraskar, India’s highest civilian award for women who work in the area of women’s empowerment, Chetna has served as a Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum in Davos (2018), Switzerland and as a Co-Chair of Financial Inclusion at the W20 Summit (2018) in Argentina.
“Spirituality is about people who have a different experiences; when you bring your Talent & Art out and together, even under the most difficult circumstances, and when it gives Peace to others, that is Spirituality to me”, - says Chetna Gala Sinha in her talk with Venkatesh Mahadevan
Chetna founded the Mann Deshi Foundation in 1996 in Mhaswad, a drought- stricken area of Maharashtra, with the aim of economically and socially empowering rural women. In1997, she set up the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank-India’s first bank for and by rural women.
In 2006, Chetna founded the first Business School for Rural Women and in 2013, she launched a toll-free help line and the first Chamber of Commerce for women micro-entrepreneurs in the country. In 2012, she set up a Community Empowerment Programme for Farmers that supports Water Conservation.
Mann Deshi Foundation also has a Sports Programme for talented athletes (2012) and a women-owned Community Radio (2008) that reaches over 100,000 listeners. In 2013, Mann Deshi Foundation was awarded the Best Innovation Award by the National Rural Livelihoods Mission. To date, Mann Deshi has supported more than 600,000 women.
Chetna has been awarded the 2005 Jankidevi Bajaj Award for Rural Entrepreneurship, the 2005 Ashoka Change makers Award, the 2009 Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award, and the 2010 EdelGive Social Innovation Honors. She has won the 2013 Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the 2017 Forbes Social Entrepreneurs of the Year Award and was ranked by Fortune India as one of the country’s 50 top business women in 2018.
She has been instrumental in driving significant policy changes and the Reserve Bank of India, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, and several other national planning and regulatory institutions regularly seek her advice on financial inclusion. She is on several national boards including the National Advisory Panel for Niti-Ayog’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Cell (since 2018) and the Advisory Committee of the Reserve Bank of India’s Financial Inclusion Strategy (2019-2024).
“ZENPod” is a Podcast series that features trailblazers from different walks of life, with a purpose to build an empowered eco-system where learnings and experiences from these enlightened professionals, will be available within “arms reach of desire” for those who aspire to scale higher and wish to contribute, in their life’s pursuit.
