WER Week Wrap: Women at the Core of India's Business Shift

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 5 June 2026

This week’s development across India revealed how women are becoming more influential across the national agenda — the economy, society, enterprises and leadership. The most significant policy announcements, entrepreneurship initiatives, landmark appointments, startup wins and startup funding successes, sporting triumphs and academic success stories all had women at the centre of the story.

Welfare and empowerment programs were implemented by governments, organisations created more opportunities for women entrepreneurs and companies showed growing confidence in women leaders. Meanwhile, women athletes and students made headlines and showed how present and poised to be in areas traditionally shaped by men.

In this edition, WER  gathers the biggest development , implementing a more pronounced national trend, where women are not only in the story of India’s growth, but playing a bigger role in writing it — through leadership, innovation, enterprise and other, being a woman entrepreneur.

Policy Matters: Key policy developments focused on inclusion and empowerment.

Policy developments this week highlighted both new welfare initiatives and the evolving landscape of women’s empowerment programs across India. Around 52 lakh women will be benefiting from the Mukhya Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana, which will be implemented from July 1 by the Punjab government. The scheme will be implemented with an investment of ₹9,300 crore, announced by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and will provide financial support of ₹1,500 per month to Dalit women and ₹1,000 to women from other communities.

Youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and women-led development theme is being maintained at the national level through initiatives such as Startup India, PMKVY, Lakhpati Didi, Namo Drone Didi, and Stand-Up India. These programs ensure access to skills training, startup opportunities and financial support to women and underserved population.

At the national level, government-commissioned evaluation of the DAY-NRLM found that many women’s Self-Help Groups failed to offer viable enterprises. The report has the unsettling finding that even women members taking the loan to start their business for their domestic needs. These insights raise importance about rural livelihood programs that need to be factored in in future development.

Women Empowerment: Initiatives expanded opportunities for women entrepreneurs

Women’s empowerment continued to gain momentum across entrepreneurship and business ecosystem development. The Women in Tech Accelerator Program launched by BML Munjal University’s Propel Incubator and Ideabaaz, backed by NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). This will support women led startups to scale up with mentorship, investors and market access; the focus is on areas like AI, DeepTech, healthcare, climate technology and sustainability.

On the entrepreneurial front, GIZ Her&Now has extended its support for women entrepreneurs by launching Women Business Networks (WBNs) for women entrepreneurs in the states of Manipur and Nagaland. The WBNs, in partnership with Dhriiti and the respective state institutions, will aim to enhance the access of women entrepreneurs to mentorship, investment, market access as well as professional support infrastructure. The initiative is expected to shape a better entrepreneurial ecosystem that will increase the potential for the development of women led enterprises in Northeast India.

Top Appointments: Women leaders secured influential positions across sectors.

This week’s leadership appointments highlighted the growing influence of women across the judiciary, finance, education, and global media sectors.

Senior Advocate Venkita Subramani Mohana assumed charge as a Supreme Court judge last week. She is only the second woman to sit on the bench of India’s apex court and the first woman judge to be elevated to the Supreme Court since 2021.

Retirement of 35 years in IAS services and experience as leader in public administration and governance, Upma Chawdhry has ended with her appointment  as Chairperson of the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India. She is the first woman chairwoman of the exchange.

A key appointment happened recently in the Studying Abroad and Ed-Tech Ecosystem with Duolingo English Test appointing Divya Rao as their Marketing Lead, India. She brings with her experience across global brands such as Netflix, TikTok and ByteDance to help drive growth and student engagement strategy as we look to build the next generation of strong global citizens for India.

Sunita Kaur has recently joined the helm of Universal Music Publishing Group as President, Asia with a base in Singapore. The former Spotify exec will be spearheading the growth of the Polo line of business across Asia and build opportunities for songwriters and artists.

Women in Leadership: Corporate leadership stories reflected changing industry dynamics.

A leader for the time – Adobe India’s Vice President and Managing Director, Prativa Mohapatra has announced her departure from the company after almost five years. She was the company’s first woman Managing Director who helped in driving business growth, digital transformation and innovation at the organization. Prior to joining Adobe India, Prativa had an illustrious career at Adobe, IBM and PwC.

Women in corporate leadership is a key trend identified recently in India. A survey by EMA Partners found that the number of women CXO's in India who earn more than 1 million was up from seven to nine in the last two years. Pharma, consumer & financial services companies have seen the biggest win in women representation in corporate leadership.

In India, gender imbalance in technology and the need for more women leadership has compelled ISACA India’s Hyderabad Chapter to launch SheLeadsTech 2026 – a program to engage industry leaders, technologists, and aspiring professionals to do more to bring gender diversity to technology. It aims to provide a platform for women and men with leadership potential to help the talent pool gain these skills and to foster a community of leaders for the future growth of the technology industry through mentorship, leadership development, and innovations.

Startup Spotlight: Funding activity reflected confidence in innovative startups.

The Indian startup ecosystem continued to generate strong investor confidence in the last quarter of the fiscal year, with funding flowing into consumer, lifestyle, and health-tech companies.

Anveshan, a clean-label food brand, raised ₹150 crore in a Series B round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, with IFC and other major investors on board. It will help Anveshan build more manufacturing capacity, innovate its product portfolio and expand into new markets, as consumer demand for the minimally processed and nutrition-driven foods continues to grow.

Zouk, a direct-to-consumer Mumbai-based lifestyle brand co-founded by Disha Singh and Pradeep Krishnakumar, raised ₹60 crore in a pre-Series C funding round. The company saw 61% year-on-year revenue growth in FY25. “The homegrown consumer game is thriving and Zouk is looking to strengthen its omnichannel presence,” said the founders.

“The Sweet Change, a health-tech company that develops monk fruit-based sugar alternatives, raised ₹1.7 crore in a pre-seed round led by Rebalance. The company, co-founded by Manvi Agnihotri and Sheen Hitaishi, is looking to commercialize its product across the retail, quick commerce and D2C channels.The consumer field is crowded, but food tech and health-tech are currently the hottest sectors in the space,” said Agnihotri and Hitaishi.

Sports Central: Women’s sports witnessed progress both on and off-field.

Women’s sports continue their rise by leaps and bounds on the field as well as the field of view. Excellent performances and the increased efforts to build for women’s sports fans are going hand and hand.

The India’s women’s football team beat defending SAFF Champions Bangladesh 3-0 in SAFF Women’s Championship 2026, tops the group B and reached the semi-finals. It was the first time the Indian team won over Bangladesh in 7 years and showed the competence of the Indian team to chase a sixth SAFF title, which is the record for any team in this competition.

In another move, JioStar and the ICC announced a national campaign to build fans for Women’s cricket in India, shortly before the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 in England and Wales. Through television, digital and other media, collaboration with creators, and exclusive content – the campaign will leverage the increasing popularity of women’s cricket to increase visibility and sense of belonging for women cricketers and bring them into the mainstream as sports idols.

Women Achievers: Outstanding performances inspired future generations.

Women have continued to blaze new trails at sporting and academic levels demonstrate excellence, resolve and leadership on both national and international fronts.

Harmanpreet Kaur became the most-capped player in the history of women’s international cricket as she appeared in her 368th match for India against England. The Indian skipper became the first women’s player to surpass the record held by Suzie Bates of New Zealand. Harmanpreet passed the record and capped the record setting performance with a half century, further cementing her legacy as one of the most successful cricketers ever for women’s cricket.

Arohi Deshpande was the highest-ranking female of JEE Advanced 2026 and secured a rank of 77 with a score of 280 out of 360, according to the All India Rank (AIR) list released in November. Using a disciplined preparation, well-planned strategy for revisions and consistent practice she cracked the country’s toughest engineering entrance exam.

Conclusion

The week’s developments reflected a common theme that women are increasingly shaping India’s future. Whether through government initiatives, corporate appointments, startup innovation, or individual achievements, women are occupying larger spaces in decision-making and influence than ever before. As institutions continue to invest in inclusion and opportunity, these stories collectively shows a future where women’s contributions are not only recognized but are central to the nation’s progress and growth.