New Delhi, 16 April, 2021.

“For our country to prosper, we need to ensure women-led development & this is evidenced by the fact that women have been at the forefront in fighting the pandemic, as 6 million + women have been a part of the healthcare Covid warriors contingent”, said Smt. Smriti Irani, Hon’ble Minister of Women and Child Development & Ministry of Textiles in her address at FLO’s 37^th Annual Session. In sync with the current need of the hour, the theme for this year’s annual session was “Sustainable livelihoods - Investing in Women for a New India”.

“The industry needs to ensure that the facility under the law in no ways brings about discrimination at the workplace” Smt. Irani further added.

Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Hon’ble Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Minister of Rural Development and Minister of Food Processing Industries said, “I am assured that the task undertaken by FLO to carry out transformative work across 143 villages will be successfully completed”.

“North East has been home to knitting, weaving, handicrafts etc. & I am glad to say that women take lead in such areas”, said Dr. Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region

"The transformative investments that we, as votaries of ‘women empowerment’ driving the New India must make, in achieving the different targets of Sustainable Development Goals, which I refer to as the Ashta Laxmis of Transformative Investments”, said Lakshmi Puri, Former Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations, Deputy Executive Director UN WOMEN, Director and Acting Deputy Secretary-General, UNCTAD Indian Foreign Service Officer and Ambassador of India.

Ms. Jahnabi Phookan, President, FLO shed light over her tenure & the various initiatives which has been carried out by her along with her team. She said, “In the face of the increasing workload & Gender biases, women require opportunities to ensure their public participation. We concentrated our efforts towards the microcosm of women at the 3- levels that FLO has always worked on. At Grassroot level by Adopting 143 villages pan India under A Village Adoption Program, the number of beneficiaries through this program stand at 3,50,560 till date. At Urban Level through Adopt an ITI program, where we provided certified training courses. And at Corporate level, we introduced our members to corporate director training & onboarding the GEM (Government E-Marketplace)”.

“FLO's 3Cs program which aimed towards fostering competency, capacity & confidence building helped us to reach nearly 20,000 women through skilling, up-skilling & reskilling. Furthermore, our W7 initiative helped us in working with ambassadors & Consulate Generals of Vietnam, Myanmar, Ireland, Netherlands, Chile, and Australia to reach out to their women entrepreneurs”.

"I would like to thank the FLO fraternity for the support which they have extended to me throughout my virtual tenure, she further added.

"It fills me with pride to behold the kind of work FLO has done; all the very best to all the FLO members", said Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary-General FICCI

Ujjwala Singhania, Director at J.K. International Pvt. Ltd & Director at General Data Private Limited took over the responsibilities as the 38th President of FICCI Ladies Organization from Jahnabi Phookan, Director, JTI Group.

Change of Guard ceremony across 17 Flo chapter also took place simultaneously on the virtual platform.

The other eminent speakers during the 2-day Annual session organised by FICCI FLO included Mr. Ram Mohan Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development; Ms Ira Singhal, IAS officer and currently the brand ambassador of the Department of Disability, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Women and Child Development and the NITI Aayog; Mr. B B Swain, Secretary, Ministry of Micro. Small & Medium Enterprise; Ms. Lakhimi Baruah, Managing Director, Konoklota Mahila Urban Cooperative Bank; Nandita Baruah, Country Head, The Asia Foundation; Taab Siddiqi, Co-founder Harvest Gold Industries Pvt. Ltd; Priya Nair, Executive Director, Beauty and Personal Care (BPC) for Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and Vice President, BPC, Unilever, South Asia; Mr. Atul Satya Koushik, Indian Mythology Expert