29th FLO Annual Session New Delhi

The 29th Annual Session of FLO was organized on April 8th, 2013 at Le Meridien, New Delhi. Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Gujarat was the Chief Guest. Ms Naina Lal Kidwai, FICCI President also addressed the gathering.

The theme of the Annual Session was Unleash the Entrepreneur Within: Exploring New Avenues. The theme was in conjunction with FLO’s belief that it is imperative to tap and converge the powerhouse that women are, by bringing them into the mainstream, if we have to achieve a faster pace of growth rate. Therefore, it is important to explore new avenues and analyze the extent to which the structure of economic opportunities, generated by a country’s growth strategies, translated into positive impacts on women’s lives in our country.

In his keynote address, Shri Narendra Modi reinforced that empowerment is the first condition that has to be fulfilled in order to enable women to excel in entrepreneurial roles. Modi ji highlighted on the initiatives taken up by the Gujarat Government towards empowerment of women – one such initiative is to waive the stamp registration fee for anyone acquiring property in a woman’s name.

Shri Modi also stated that it would be a fallacy to ignore the actual role of women in the process of economic development and growth in our country. The real lacuna lies in the fact that despite being an equal of men or sometimes even excelling them in terms of effort, hard work, dedication and sacrifice, women are not equal partners in the process of decision making even today. He emphasized on the necessity to create an enabling environment to tap this immense strength and potential for the purpose of our national development.

Ms Kavitha Varadaraj President passed on the baton of FLO to Ms Malvika Rai, who took over as President of FLO for the year 2013-14.

It was a very well attended session, with nearly 1000 members across 10 chapters in India and other invitees.