Non-governmental Organisation (NGO)
February 2023


Project Puthri’s Udyog Utsav 2023  
stresses career intentionality

Project Puthri by Avtar Human Capital Trust conducted two editions of Udyog Utsav 2023, an annual career visioning conference, on January 21st in Coimbatore.

Coimbatore: 

The day-long event held at Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts & Science (KCLAS). The event was presided over by M. Prathap, IAS, Commissioner, Corporation of Coimbatore, who was the Guest of Honour at the event. who honoured the winners of the Talent Search Competition and schools conducted by Project Puthri.



As India’s first-ever developmental project, which aims to create career intentionality among underprivileged girl students, Project Puthri has been reshaping the destinies of over 10,000 girls studying in Government and Corporation Schools in 10 districts of Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.

Udyog Utsav focuses on India’s underprivileged daughters to enable them to choose educational courses and career paths from a variety of options.

Udyog Utsav held on the college campus saw the participation of more than 400 girls from Government and Government aided Schools in Coimbatore. These young girls are being trained in over 40 skills that will enable them to build intentional careers following their tertiary education.

Udyog Utsav features knowledge sharing sessions delivered by organizations & institutions to explain the available career opportunities in various industries and in the process build aspirations among young minds to focus on education to build sustainable careers


Corporates including Heptagon Technologies , Teknoturf Info Services , Emerald Jewel Industry , Vandewiele-Savio India , Rasi Seeds ¸ Cognizant Outreach, Saint Gobain' MyHome Partner CA Enterprises, Waycool Foods & Products, Caterpillar India, Lakshmi Ring Travelers & Reliance Retail, and educational institutions KCLAS-Dept of Humanities, KCLAS-Dept of Tamil Creative Writing & Literature, KCLAS-Dept of Mass Communication, KCLAS-Dept of Management & Commerce, RVS College of Ayurveda, RVS College of Engineering Technology, offered knowledge at the conference.

The career visioning conference gave the girl students a chance to envisage the possibilities of careers, scholarships, internships, and future careers for them to make discretionary choices towards their career paths.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Social Entrepreneur, Founder – President, Avtar Group, and the Managing Trustee of AHCT said, “India with its predominantly young population is on course to being the fastest-growing major economy in the coming years. Half the population of India is under the age of 30 and at least 12 million people enter the job market every year and a sizeable talent from the underprivileged section of society. This young budding talent, especially the girls have minimum or no access to career guidance and mentoring.”



In his address, M Prathap, IAS, Commissioner – Corporation of Coimbatore, said, “It is a proven fact that countries with greater Women’s workforce participation (WWP) grow economically faster than the countries with lower WWP. A recent survey revealed that when Women’s workforce participation drops by 10% the country's GDP goes down by 1%. We need women's representation in all walks of life. Government initiatives coupled with programs like that of Project Puthri provide the right exposure to children from underprivileged schools towards envisioning their careers.”


The keynote address was delivered by Dr. Vijila Edwin-Kennedy, Principal, Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Science. She highlighted that the enrolment rate among girls in Tamil Nadu in higher educational institutions has been increasing over the years. “Career guidance programs like Udyog Utsav provide the much-needed impetus and the right pathing for girls to make their career choices wisely at the right juncture. KCLAS is invested in developing the talent and employability of India’s young talent pool. KCLAS is very happy to support Project Puthri’s initiative for the girl children,” she said.


Other speakers at the event included Balakumar Thangavelu, Associate Director, India Lead- ESG Outreach, Cognizant, and
Gandhimathinathan Palaniswamy, Director, Revathi Equipment, Coimbatore.



It’s a great pleasure to share the coverage received from various media houses on our mega event ‘ Udyog Utsav 2023