New Delhi: Union education minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ presented the AICTE Lilavati Awards 2020 on women empowerment to the winners, here on Sunday.

Speaking on the occasion Pokhriyal congratulated all the 456 teams who participated in the contest. The Minister said that India is a country where ‘Nari Tu Narayani’ has been an integral part of our ethos and culture. In line with the vision of our Prime Minister, the govt has launched several welfare schemes for the overall development of girls and women in various fields, including Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, Beti Bachao – Beti Padhao Yojana, etc, he added. Shri Pokhriyal also informed that Government launched Udaan scheme which aims to enable girls of weaker socio-economic status at school level to gain access to higher education. We also started Pragati Yojana to give young women opportunity to further their technical education, he added. Shri Pokhriyal highlighted that the new National Educational Policy has greatly emphasised on gender equality and students should participate in such initiatives to promote women empowerment.

 He welcomed the initiative of AICTE for instituting the Lilawati Awards and stressed that such innovative steps shall be great motivation for girls to join higher education. This initiative will pave a path towards equality in education and innovation, for women

AICTE chairman Professor Anil Sahasrabudhe said, “I thank Honorable minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ for attending the event. AICTE is so happy to present this year’s Lilawati award aimed at empowering womanhood in the nation. Moreover, I congratulate all the teams who submitted the entries. India is a country known for respecting and celebrating the glory of womanhood, and with initiatives like these, AICTE is also contributing its bit to empower the women in our country,” said Sahasrabudhe.

Based on the theme ‘Women Empowerment’, AICTE finalized the winners from a total of 456 entries who competed across 6 sub themes, which include, Women’s Health, Self-Defense, Sanitation and Hygiene, Literacy, Women Entrepreneurship, and Legal Awareness. After analyzing the initial entries, the top 10 entries under each sub-theme were invited for presentation before the two committees headed by Prof Sushma Yadava, Vice-Chancellor, B.P.S. Mahila Vishwavidyalaya Khanpur Kalan, Haryana and Dr. Vinita S. Sahay, Director, IIM Bodh Gaya. 

SWEAT (Sona Women Entrepreneurship and Training) from Sona College of Technology, Tamil Nadu won the contest in the ‘ Women Entrepreneurship’ sub theme. Under the ‘Digital Literacy’ sub theme, Bharatiya Vidyapeeth won the contest. Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Development Pune won the award under the ‘Literacy’ sub theme. WIT Women Health Coalition from Walchand Institute of Technology, Maharashtra won the award under the ‘Women’s Health’ sub theme. Radiant Seetha from Thiagarajar Polytechnic College won the contest in the ‘Legal Awareness’ sub theme. Finally, Paritrana from St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Tamil Nadu won the award for the ‘Self Defense’ sub theme. 

Bharatiya Vidyapeeth, who won the award under the digital literacy subtheme suggested that internet revolution that has happened in India post-2014 has played a crucial role in empowering women in the nation. “Post-2014, the internet revolution happened in India, and it has helped women in the country to grow, as information is accessible at their fingertips. However, even now, there are several women in the country who do not have sufficient digital literacy, and we should bring them too to the forefront of the society,” said Bharatiya Vidyapeeth.

LIST OF AWARDEES

Legal Awareness-
 Sr. NoPositionName Of InstituteName of TeamTeam Members
 WinnerTHIAGARAJAR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE,TAMIL NADURADIANT SEETHAR. MAHESWARIM. PONNIP. KARUNYA DEVIS. SARANYASISTER A.S. CELINE AUGUSTINE MARY
 1st Runner –UpNAVODAYA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, RAICHIUR, KARNATAKAWOMEN EMPOWERMENT CELL-NITR HARSHITA GANGAKHEDM TEJASWINIGEETA K.MSHALINI KCHANNAVEERAMMA E
 2nd Runner –UpPONDICHERRY ENGINEERING COLLEGE,PUDUCHERRYMALARRAJATHY RATHINASAMYSANTHI GURUSAMYPALLAVHEE TAMIZHCHELVANGUEJALATCHOUMY KOTHANDAPANIKAVITHA KUMAR RAJENDIRAN
 LAKSHMI NARAIN COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, MADHYA PRADESH.UDAANAYUSH PURWARGARGI DUBEYMEGHA CHOUBEYPALAK JAINPRAGYA JAIN 
Self Defence-
 WinnerST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,TAMIL NADU.PARITRANASS. AKSHAYADELLECTA JESSY RASHMIVADAVANNUR CHELLAN RAMAKRISHNAN JAYARAMA PRADEEPRAMASAMY SREEKANTHGUNASEKARAN BRINDHA
 1st Runner –UpTHIAGARAJAR POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE,TAMIL NADUSHAKTHITHEJESWINI VJAYANTHI CBHOVANAASHWARI TUDHAYAKUMAR PJ. AMUL RAJ 
 SRI SAI RAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE,TAMIL NADU.MAHILA PRATHIRAKSHA ABHIYAANK. L. NITHISH RAJAS. SRIVIDHYADr. M.NITHYADr. K.LATHAS. SUBHA
 2nd Runner –Up VIVEKANANDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,RAJASTHANWARRIORSDEEPIKA JANGIDTANUSHREE MEHARWALRUCHI SHARMAVANDANA AGARWAL
 G. H. RAISONI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, NAGPUR, MAHARASHTRASURAKSHA CHAKRAMD. AASHIM KHANKANCHAN DIYEWARVIBHA BORABHAKTI PATANKARISHA KHEDIKAR
Sanitation & Hygiene-
 WinnerSMT. KISHORITAI BHOYAR COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, MAHARASHTRASKBCOP ECO CLUBTANISHKA RANDIVEPRANJAL TIDKEDR. RENUKA DASSHRUTI NASREMR. MANISH AGLAWE
 1st Runner –Up SONA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY, TAMIL NADUSWSAH (SONA WOMEN SANITATION AND HYGIENE)PRIYALATHA SGULSHAN TAJ M N APARAMASIVAM SKANIMOZHI JRASHMA M
 ST. JOSEPH’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, TAMIL NADUVOW –   VIRANGANA OF WASH (WATER SANITATION  HYGIENE)N HEMAPRIYAVENKATESAN MUTHULAKSHMIGANDHIMARUTHIAN LATHASELVIRENUKA VISWANATHANK RAJARAMAN
 2nd Runner –UpSRI KRISHNA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY, TAMIL NADUSKCET SANITATION AND HYGIENE TEAMKAVIYA SSUDHIR SOPHIAKARPAGAM MYLSAMYR GEETHAMANI RP A THIRUNAVUKARASU
Women Health-
1.WinnerWALCHAND INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,MAHARASHTRAWIT WOMEN HEALTH COALITIONDR. RUPALI J.SHELKEDr. PRATIBHA YALAGI  ALADEEPRASHMI DIXITDIPALI DILIP AWASEKARROHINI MERGU
2.1st Runner –UpPOONA COLLEGE OF PHARMACY, MAHARASHTRABHARATI PCP SAKHEE1.VARSHA POKHARKAR2.ARULMOZHI SATHIYANARAYANAN3. ASAWARI RAUT4. MANJUSHA SAJITH5. SAVITA GOWEKAR
3.2nd Runner –Up KUMARAGURU COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY,  TAMIL NADUNATURAL PRODUCTS FOR HEALTHCARE1. THIYAGARAJAN SATHISH KUMAR2. KUMARESAN KUPPAMUHTU3. SOUNDARARAJAN NITHYA PRIYA4. S. VASUKI5. S. BHARTHI KAMALA
4.BIYANI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT, RAJASTHANBIYANI INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENT1. SANJAY BIYANI2. NEETA MAHESHWARI3. NEHA PANDEY4. POONAM SHARMA5. ANJU BHATT
Women Entrepreneurship
1.WinnerSONA COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY TAMIL NADUSWEAT (SONA WOMEN ENTERPRENURSHIP AND TRAINING)RAMALINGAM MALATHYSRINIVASAN PADMADHANAKODI RAJAKRISHNASWAMYPILLAI RANGANATHAN KAVITHAARUMUGAM RANJITHKUMAR
2.1st Runner –UpENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF INDIA, GUJARATWOMEN EMPOWERMENTRAJESH GUPTABAISHALI MITRANIKITA TASATYA ACHARYARAMAN GUJRAL
3.2nd Runner –UpBHILAI INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGYUNMUKTAMANISHA SHARMASHUBHRATA NAGPALARPANA RAWAL
4.G. H. RAISONI COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, NAGPUR, MAHARASHTRA.AATMANIRBHARSWAPNA CHOUDHARIATUL DESHMUKHARCHANA RAUTBHARGAVI KAKIRWARMADHAVI CHAVHAN
Literacy –
1.WinnerBHARATI VIDYAPEETH ( Deemed to be University) INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT, PUNEDIGITAL LITERACYMS SHWETA TATEKIRTI GUPTAANURADHA YESUGADERAJITA DIXITHEMA MIRJI
2.1st Runner –UpSRI SAI RAM ENGINEERING COLLEGE, TAMIL NADUSAI STHREE VIDYA ABHIYAANS.VASUPRADHADr. SOMA PRATHIBHADr. N. MANIB. PRIYAM. SIVA  SANKARI
3.2nd Runner –UpHYDERABAD INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT, HYDERABADWe-LitDEVIKA SUGGUBODI VENKATESWARLUARVIND SIDDAPURAMSURESH AALURIJOYTHSNA K   SMT. SUSHEELA DEVI 
4.SRI MANAKULA VINAYAGAR ENGINEERING COLLEGE, PUDUCHERRYSUPER SONICPAVITHRAN.TARVIND.KBALAMURALI.MHARINI.GJASMINE.A