Women Shaping STEM – Join Our Next Event
Rukhmabai Initiatives
Rukhmabai Grants 2025
Our newest cohort has been carefully selected from the dozens of submissions we received from incredible science writers and journalists eager to contribute towards building inclusive spaces in Indian STEM.
Saishya Duggal is a public policy and impact consulting professional working at the intersection of tech, finance, and climate policy. She has undertaken projects with the UP Govt., the World Bank group, and Indian NBFCs. A graduate of Delhi University, her work emphasises the value of STEM in policy and its implementation. Her previous professional stints include those with Invest India and Ericsson.
Puja Bhattacharjee is an independent journalist based in Kolkata and writes about health, science, environment, gender, justice, rights, policy and culture.
Stories from
By Jayanti Dutta
The founder of Bioklone turned her expertise in monoclonal antibodies into a research services company that now works with scientists and institutions worldwide.
By Jayanti Dutta
In under-resourced colleges across India, women educators sustain scientific temper, mentor first-generation learners, and navigate constraints with ingenuity.
By Puja Bhattacharjee
From moonlit turtle patrols in Chennai to reshaping how India eats fish, marine conservationist Divya Karnad has built a people-first model of ocean stewardship.
By Jayanti Dutta
Madhumala Chattopadhyay spent six years living among the tribes of the Andaman Islands, and her career shows how ethical responsibility is central to meaningful fieldwork.
By Puja Bhattacharjee
As climate volatility reshapes India’s rivers and cities, Dhanya CT studies the patterns beneath floods and droughts to build systems of early warning.
By Jayanti Dutta
From navigating gendered spaces in academia to shaping global standards on heritage stones, a geologist charts a meteoric rise along a rocky path
By Saishya Duggal
Karishma Kaushik’s career trajectory explains why science in India is shaped as much by structure as ambition.
By Saishya Duggal
Jayshree Vencatesan’s fieldcraft, people skills and persistence have protected ecosystems which were written off as wastelands.
By Saishya Duggal
How Prerna Sonthalia Goradia is building molecular filtration systems that target the toxic air and water contaminants that are not always visible.
By Monalisa Paul
How Sanjeeta Pokharel carved a career in elephant science against the odds and why their survival drives her work.
By Yams Srikanth
Two scholars explain how fieldwork is not just about collecting data but about listening, representing, and giving back.








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