Cabinet Minister Shri Bibhuti Bhusan Jena Honours 600 Women Leaders at the Convocation of Disha in Berhampur
• Programme has empowered nearly 5,000 women leaders, across Odisha
• Minister commends Tata Steel Foundation’s Disha for driving women empowerment.
Berhampur, September 12, 2025: Tata Steel Foundation organised the convocation ceremony of Disha protegees at Berhampur today. Curated on the theme of “Enlightened Equitable Society”, the programme recognized the leadership journeys of more than 600 women participants from Ganjam, Kalinganagar and Sukinda in Jajpur, Bamnipal in Keonjhar and Meramandali in Dhenkanal.
The convocation held at the Berhampur University campus, was graced by Shri Bibhuti Bhusan Jena, Hon’ble Cabinet Minister, Commerce & Transport department and Steel & Mines department, Government of Odisha, as Chief Guest. He was joined by eminent dignitaries including Prof. Geetanjali Dash, Vice Chancellor, Berhampur University; Mr. Manikanta Naik, Managing Director, Tata Steel Special Economic Zone Limited; Mr Sourav Roy, Chief Executive Officer, Tata Steel Foundation (on video conferencing), Ms. Smita Verma, Lead – Gender & Community Enterprises, and Dr. Jayant Kumar Tripathy, Lead, Gopalpur, Tata Steel Foundation.
In his address, Shri Jena appreciated TSF’s efforts in initiating Disha, which has already empowered 4,981 women leaders who are in turn supporting nearly 15,000 others. He highlighted that woman, once perceived as vulnerable and excluded from decision-making, have been demonstrating capacity, resilience, and individuality in the present times. He underlined how education and empowerment are driving women towards independence and community leadership.
The event began with context-setting by Sourav Roy wherein he emphasized upon the fact that women from grassroots Odisha and Jharkhand have been making individual choices to train under the leadership programme of Disha and take giant strides in creating a difference in their societies in the present times. Disha, he opined was beyond the equations of economic decision making. It was about realizing one’s potential within the current societal trends and adding value to others’ lives.
Disha was launched in FY’21-22 with the vision of enabling women from the marginalized communities to become active leaders and change-makers in their villages. It aims to transform 6,000 women into leaders over five years. Beginning with 564 women in FY21-22, Disha has so far trained 4981 Self Help Group women covering all three modules by FY24-25.
Over the course of the programme, women leaders successfully completed three structured modules on Leadership & Gender Mainstreaming, Role of Women in Local Self-Governance, and Network & Advocacy Skills for Collective Action. These modules have enabled participants to build confidence, strengthen participation in governance, and create advocacy networks for inclusive community development.
The convocation concluded with the felicitation and certificate distribution to the trained women leaders, acknowledging their commitment to advancing social transformation across Odisha.
