New Delhi, December 12, 2025: The two-day National Conference on “Role of Young Generation & Women in a Strong and Vibrant Indian National Power Grid”, held at Yashobhoomi (India International Convention & Expo Centre), Dwarka, Delhi, concluded with a strong reaffirmation of the transformative role of youth and women in the sector. Their energy, curiosity and commitment stood out as a key strength, positioning them as true torchbearers of the future. The discussion across all the sessions highlighted that they have a significant role to play in India’s power sector and should embrace innovation to help build a resilient and sustainable power grid.
Key remarks:
Yatindra Dwivedi, Director (Personnel), POWERGRID stressed the need for professionals, especially women, to actively seek challenging roles. He stated, “Taking ownership of strategic and critical projects is essential for the visibility of employees. Women should proactively take up challenging assignments such as transmission construction and other strategic programmes to gain such visibility.”
Ayush Gupta, Director (HR), GAIL India underscored the value of mentorship and skill development. He observed, “Successful mentoring programmes are mentee driven rather than mentor driven. Mentees must own their goals, and reverse mentoring should be adopted by senior leaders to learn from younger colleagues.”
Meenakshi Davar, Ex Director (Personnel), Grid India highlighted the importance of continuous learning and technological openness. She remarked, “Continuous learning and curiosity for new technologies are essential. New technologies should not be avoided; in fact, they should be embraced to speed processes and improve efficiency.”
Manju Gupta, Chair (Women in Energy), CIGRE India and Executive Director, POWERGRID, emphasised the centrality of team culture and trust to organisational resilience. She stated, “Resilience is not only about working harder, but also about building a team culture that puts priority on trust.”
Kiran Gupta, Chief (Customer Experience, Commercial, Government Affairs, EAC & Consumer Litigation), Tata Power DDL, stressed the importance of designing processes from the customer perspective to improve service delivery. She said, “Simplicity must be brought into processes. Operational efficiency improves when procedures are straightforward and easily understood by customers rather than relying solely on high-cost technologies that customers do not value. Thus, designing, planning and service delivery must be carried out from the customer lens.”
Sangeeta Kaushik, Executive Director, NTPC Limited, examined transition points and upskilling needed for mid-career professionals, especially women, moving into leadership roles. Furthermore, she observed that mid-career progression benefits significantly from clarity of direction as well as supportive structures.
Dr. Alka Mittal, Member Administration at the Capacity Building Commission, and Former CMD and Director (HR), ONGC distilled executive leadership principles and offered practical guidance for aspiring leaders. She highlighted the value of regular feedback to help translate leadership learning into day-to-day decisions and team practices.
Other highlights:
- Harneet Kaur, AVP & Head Regulatory, Resonia, discussed the issues in implementation of Transmission system and regulatory reforms needed for addressing them.
- The New Generation Network by CBIP was conducted by A. K. Srivastava, Advisor, CBIP, and Akshay Dewan, Manager (Energy), CBIP, showcased young professionals’ technical contributions and pathways for engagement.
- Manju Gupta, Chair (Women in Energy), CIGRE India and Executive Director, POWERGRID, presented an overview of the Women in Energy (WiE) Action Plan for 2026, which sets out a structured roadmap to strengthen participation, visibility and leadership pathways for women across India’s energy sector. The Action Plan outlines a phased year-long set of initiatives including restructuring of the WiE cell, a nationwide survey to map women’s representation and aspirations, mentorship pairings between senior and young engineers, expanded outreach to universities and engineering colleges, a two-day national seminar on leadership, an annual WiE Meet to showcase achievements, and publication of the WiE India 2026 Report and Roadmap for 2027.
- K. Srivastava, Advisor, CBIP, closed the conference with the key takeaways and vote of thanks emphasising empowerment and cross-generational collaboration.
The conference reflected a collective commitment to empower young professionals and women to drive innovation, leadership and excellence in shaping India’s future power grid.
About CIGRE
CIGRE is a global, non-profit organisation headquartered in Paris, dedicated to advancing the technical, economic and environmental performance of power systems worldwide. With more than 14,000 members across 100 countries, it is the leading knowledge platform for high-voltage transmission and electrical networks.
CIGRE India, administered by CBIP, represents India in the global CIGRE community and coordinates national participation, knowledge-sharing and study committee activities. CBIP supports capacity building, technical training and sectoral knowledge exchange across the power and water industries.
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