The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind will felicitate tomorrow exceptional women who are the first to set a milestone in their respective fields. As many as 112 women have been selected after an extensive research process by the Ministry of Women & Child Development, will be honoured by the President at Rashtrapati Bhawan tomorrow evening. The women being felicitated tomorrow are those who have been the first in any field like the first woman judge, first woman porter, first woman to head a missile project, first para-trooper, first Olympian among others.

The Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi said, “Keeping up with the solemn spirit of Empowered Nari, the Ministry conceptualised 'First Ladies'. These First Ladies rose through barriers, standards and oppressive notions to become the first women to excel in the fields which were thought to be beyond them".

A list of 227 women was compiled through various sources, including Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Sports, Limca Book of Records, press clippings, internet etc. Smt. Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, along with an esteemed panel of judges, finalised the names of 112 extraordinary women who busted stereotypes and broke the glass ceiling to become the Number One.

On March 8^th, the WCD Ministry honours with Nari Shakti Puruskars, those women who have contributed to society but have remained unsung. The Nari Shakti Puraskars are conferred by the Hon'ble President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan. Along with these Puruskars, the Ministry has started a new system of recognising in different ways those women who have broken the glass ceiling and ventured into unusual fields. The Ministry had collaborated with Facebook in 2015 to recognise '100 Women Achievers' who have excelled in diverse sectors of public work. These women were hosted by His Excellency, the President of India. 'First Ladies' is the second leg of the ‘100 Women Achievers’ campaign of the Ministry.

Click here for profiles of 112 Women Achievers to be honoured tomorrow.

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