New Delhi, Aug 15:Bharat Ki Beti: From Lab to Corner Office, authored by Dr. Manisha Acharya, Founder & Managing Director, WEneurs Forum, was launched on Saturday at the Civil Services Officers’ Institute, New Delhi, celebrating the inspiring journeys of 16 women entrepreneurs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The event was graced by Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union Cabinet Minister for MSME, Government of India, as Chief Guest. Bharat Khera, Secretary, MSME, was Special Guest, while Dr. Anita Gupta, former Head, National Entrepreneurship Board (NEB), DST, Government of India, and Shraddha Sharma, Founder & CEO, YourStory, were the Guests of Honour.

The event brought together policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, professionals, members of the startup ecosystem and women entrepreneurs featured in the book.

The book was conceived from Dr. Acharya’s experience of working with researchers, scientists and entrepreneurs. While India has extensive research and data on STEM innovation, she saw a need to document the real entrepreneurial journeys of Indian women in STEM in one accessible volume. The book brings together stories from different parts of India, showcasing how scientific knowledge, research and technology can be transformed into enterprises creating value and impact.

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Manisha Acharya said, “These are not stories of overnight success. They are stories of long nights in laboratories, experiments that failed, doors that closed before one finally opened, and women who were sometimes told ‘this isn’t for you’ and who quietly and persistently proved otherwise.”

She added, “I hope that a young girl, whether she is sitting in a small town, a university laboratory or a research institution, can open this book and see a version of her own future. Sometimes what a young woman needs is not another lecture about what is possible—she simply needs to see someone like herself who has already done it.”

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Women entrepreneurs featured in the book also shared reflections on their journeys, highlighting the challenges, persistence and determination involved in taking innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Jitan Ram Manjhi, Minister for MSME, emphasised the importance of balancing economic growth with environmental sustainability. Reflecting on India’s ancient cultural ethos of respecting and coexisting with nature, he stressed that India’s growth and development must ensure that economic progress does not come at the cost of the environment.

Dr. Anita Gupta and Shraddha Sharma shared their perspectives on women’s entrepreneurship and innovation, while Shri Bharat Khera, Secretary, MSME, spoke on strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He said that when women are empowered, the progress of family, society and nation at large is attained and sustained.

Bharat Ki Beti: From Lab to Corner Office documents the entrepreneurial journeys of 16 women in STEM and highlights the possibilities that emerge when scientific knowledge meets entrepreneurial ambition.

The book seeks to inspire more women researchers, scientists and technologists to consider entrepreneurship as a pathway to create impact.

Dr. Manisha Acharya is the Founder & Managing Director of WEneurs Forum, working to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship and the startup ecosystem through entrepreneurship development, incubation, acceleration and ecosystem-building initiatives.

Through Bharat Ki Beti, she seeks to document and amplify the voices of women taking scientific ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace.