From Shakti to Shree Shakti: Vedanta Aluminium empowers women this festive season

THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, SEPTEMBER 25, 2025

In India, Durga Puja and Navratri are more than festivals—they are celebrations of feminine strength, resilience, and grace. As the nation prepares to worship Goddess Durga, Vedanta Aluminium is honoring the same spirit through its women workforce and community initiatives. The company has placed naari shakti — women’s power — at the heart of its inclusive policies, empowering women across operations and communities.

Just as Maa Durga embodies transformation, Vedanta Aluminium’s Project Shree Shakti at its mega aluminium plant in Jharsuguda, Odisha, is reshaping perceptions in the manufacturing sector. Traditionally, core operational roles in metals and modern industry were seen as too demanding for women. Shree Shakti is breaking this myth. Since 2023, women have been leading night-shift operations as Pot Tending Machine (PTM) operators, process supervisors, and lab experts. For the first time in Odisha’s industrial history, women have been offered night-shift options, giving them more flexibility in balancing their careers and lives.

Each evening, these women step into roles that demand precision and leadership — overseeing advanced processes, ensuring rigorous quality checks, and managing production teams. Safety systems, infrastructure upgrades, and awareness programs have been integrated to support them. Their achievements demonstrate that excellence in technology and leadership is driven by determination, not gender, inspiring others to believe in new possibilities.

Beyond its plant, Vedanta Aluminium extends this vision of empowerment through Project Subhalaxmi Udyogini. Established in 2008, it has nurtured the Subhalaxmi Cooperative, enabling over 5,000 women in Jharsuguda to embrace entrepreneurship and financial independence.

Through initiatives like VedMurtika, a terracotta artisans’ collective, women receive professional training and access to sustainable markets. Artisans from Naxapalli village are preserving Odisha’s heritage while earning dignified livelihoods. Similarly, VedSuta promotes Sambalpuri textiles, supporting women weavers of Raghunathpalli village to continue a rich cultural tradition. Every saree woven becomes a symbol of empowerment, heritage, and hope.

Within Vedanta Aluminium, hundreds of women today serve in key technical, operational, and strategic functions across smelting, mining, logistics, power generation, and procurement. Their leadership reflects a decisive break from outdated stereotypes and a move toward inclusive growth. Women are now driving innovations, spearheading projects, and transforming the industrial landscape.

As Durga Puja and Navratri bring joy and reverence across the country, Vedanta Aluminium reaffirms its commitment to naari shakti. Every empowered woman is not only shaping her own destiny but also contributing to the progress of her community. This festive season, the company celebrates the strength of women and their indispensable role in building a brighter tomorrow.