Jharkhand’s Women Leaders Take the Global Stage at WEF 2026 in Davos
Ranchi
Jharkhand will engage with global leaders at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos and during its official visit to the United Kingdom. As part of this delegation, Smt. Kalpana Murmu Soren, Chairperson of the Women and Child Development Committee of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and MLA from Gandey, will represent the State across a series of high-level women’s leadership, gender equity, and inclusive development platforms.
A tribal women leader from Jharkhand, she brings to the global stage the lived realities and aspirations of women from Adivasi, rural, and economically marginalised communities, groups that are now at the centre of the State’s economic and social transformation.
At Davos, Kalpana Soren will participate in and address multiple policy dialogues, leadership forums, and international platforms focused on women’s political leadership, economic participation, and institutional inclusion. These include the Women Political Leaders Forum, the BRICS Panel on Women’s Empowerment, the ET Women Empowerment Dialogue, and the Alliance for Global Good’s We Lead platform, alongside other official engagements at the India Pavilion.
The State’s approach to women’s development, which she will present at these global forums, is rooted not in symbolic representation but in economic agency and institutional strength. Over 35 lakh women in Jharkhand are now organised into more than 2.8 lakh Self-Help Groups through the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), with rural credit linkages exceeding ₹5,000 crore in recent years. These women are no longer subsistence earners; they are farmers, entrepreneurs, bankers, artisans, and producers across expanding value chains.
Flagship programmes such as Lakhpati Didi, PALASH, JOHAR, JHIMDI (JICA-supported micro-drip irrigation), Adiva, and Ajivika Cafés have enabled tens of thousands of women to cross the ₹1-lakh annual income threshold, creating what development partners increasingly describe as a women-led rural economy. Products under the PALASH brand now carry Jharkhand into organised retail and global markets, with turnover projected to reach ₹45 crore by 2026. Additionally, under the Maiyaan Samman Yojana of the Jharkhand Government, lakhs of women receive an honorarium of ₹17,000 crore annually, playing a significant role in empowering young women in Jharkhand.
Following the Davos meetings, Kalpana Murmu Soren will also participate in the United Kingdom leg of the visit, including roundtable discussions on education, skilling, climate finance, and cultural heritage, as well as meetings with UK Government officials, Marang Gomke Scholars and the Indian diaspora. These engagements reflect the shared India–UK commitment to inclusive growth, women’s leadership, and institutional capacity-building.
Jharkhand’s presence at WEF 2026 carries a clear message:
When women lead, economies strengthen, communities become more resilient, and development becomes lasting. Through these global engagements, the State is presenting not a theory of empowerment, but a working model, built on the confidence, enterprise, and leadership of the Daughters of the Red Earth.
