Kalpana Murmu Soren Articulates Jharkhand’s Women-Centred Development Vision at World Economic Forum, Davos
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Davos | Ranchi :- At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, the Government of Jharkhand, in association with the BRICS Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BRICS CCI) – Women Empowerment Vertical, convened a high-level panel discussion titled “Women Entrepreneurship: Driving Growth and Building a Sustainable Economy” at the Jharkhand Pavilion. The session positioned women’s economic agency as central to resilient communities, inclusive growth, and sustainable development, highlighting Jharkhand’s distinctive, community-rooted development approach on a global platform.
Addressing the gathering, Smt. Kalpana Murmu Soren, Member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and Chairperson of the Jharkhand Legislative Committee on Women and Child Development, articulated Jharkhand’s women-centred development vision, grounded in the state’s tribal and indigenous ethos. She emphasised that Jharkhand’s relationship with land, forests, rivers and natural resources is based on stewardship and reciprocity, where development is understood not merely as growth or extraction, but as responsibility towards both people and nature.
She underscored that women lie at the heart of this worldview, noting that tribal and rural women have historically sustained families, communities and local economies through unpaid and often invisible care and community labour. This contribution, she stated, must be recognised as foundational to society and the economy.
Smt. Soren highlighted that Jharkhand’s approach to women’s empowerment goes beyond welfare, focusing instead on restoring dignity, agency and opportunity. Drawing attention to women who often remain unseen; homemakers, caregivers and informal workers, she explained that state interventions are designed to strengthen women’s confidence and enable them to pursue aspirations of their own, alongside their responsibilities within households and communities.
Using the metaphor of nurturing roots, she noted that empowering women is essential to building strong families, resilient communities and a sustainable state. When women are supported with care, resources and trust, she said, growth becomes deeper, more stable and more equitable.
She further highlighted the role of women-led Self-Help Groups facilitated through the Jharkhand State Livelihood Promotion Society (JSLPS), which have enabled women to engage in local production, food processing and value-added enterprises rooted in their local context. These collectives, she observed, not only create livelihoods but also foster discipline, self-belief and leadership, strengthening women’s position within both households and the broader economy.
Smt. Soren also emphasised that Jharkhand’s policies adopt a life-cycle approach, supporting girls and women from early education through adulthood, recognising empowerment as a continuous process rather than a single intervention.
Concluding her remarks at the international forum, Smt. Soren reaffirmed that Jharkhand’s development vision places people above resources and quality of life above narrow economic output. She noted that this women-centred approach is being advanced under the guidance and leadership of Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Hemant Soren, whose governance framework prioritises inclusion, dignity and sustainability as core pillars of the state’s development trajectory. When women are strengthened; physically, socially and economically, they become the backbone of sustainable development, not only for Jharkhand but for the country as a whole.
Inviting global partners to engage with Jharkhand, she called for closer collaboration to witness how women-led, community-rooted development can drive inclusive and sustainable growth.
The session at the World Economic Forum reinforced Jharkhand’s commitment to placing women’s leadership and entrepreneurship at the centre of its development strategy, while positioning the state as a thoughtful contributor to global conversations on sustainability, equity and economic resilience.
