In honor of International Women’s Day, Apollo Tyres honored eight women who have made a positive impact in their communities.

The Indian tiremaker honored those through its Programme Navya, an initiative that focuses on generating a livelihood and improving the well-being of underprivileged women by providing them opportunities for job placement and income support sponsored by its foundation.  In a special event in Vadodara, Gujarat, India, Apollo Tyres shared the success stories of the women that were honored and hosted a panel discussion on Gender Diversity in India, with a special focus on rural livelihood.

The program, established in the Indian states of Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, recently won Best Project Award in the Sustainable and Impactful Category at the 3rd National CSR Conclaorganizedsed by Gujarat CSR Authority, Apollo said. As part of its corporate initiatives, Apollo said it supports providing rural women a livelihood and educating them about gender rights and other social issues.

Through the program, women are trained for income generation through farming and vocational activities such as tailoring, apiculture, khakhra making, sanitary napkin making, rubber sheet making, mushroom cultivation, pineapple processing, etc. Farm-based trainings include livestock care and management and scientific agriculture practices.