world economic forum

"These women were stuck in the daily rigmarole of managing the kitchen, kids and the household. But now they were emerging as faces of a widespread change."

The student from Chandigarh sprang into the spotlight when she invented GreenWood using rice waste, which she hopes will offer low-cost building solutions for the future.

India has secured the 39th rank, climbing 16 places from last year, on the annual Global Competitiveness Index prepared by the World Economic Forum.