KORBA, Aug 14: Women engineers are playing an increasingly important role in the growth of Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), taking up challenging responsibilities across production, operations, mining and safety. Their technical expertise, confidence and leadership skills are helping break the traditional perception of manufacturing and engineering as male-dominated fields.
At BALCO, women engineers are working alongside advanced machinery and technologies, while also leading teams and driving improvement initiatives. Their achievements demonstrate that professional competence and leadership are not defined by gender.
Anshika Singh, a Chemical Engineering graduate from IPS Academy, Indore, has established herself in the challenging Cast House operations. She said that proving herself on the shop floor and gaining the confidence of colleagues were among her initial challenges. However, opportunities to work on new ideas and the trust placed in her by senior officials motivated her to perform better.
With the support of the management, Anshika initiated the ‘Samman evam Puraskar’ initiative to encourage team members and recognise their contributions. The initiative helped boost team morale and contributed to improved performance.
Today, Anshika’s identity on the shop floor is defined by her capabilities and performance rather than her gender. She believes her journey can inspire more women to pursue careers in technical and shop-floor roles.
Aruna, another BALCO engineer, holds a degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from NIT Sikkim. After joining the plant, she initially felt hesitant about working in an industrial environment. Support from colleagues and the confidence shown by senior officials helped her overcome the initial hesitation.
Over the past four years, Aruna has strengthened her professional capabilities through dedication and a continuous willingness to learn. She and her team recently worked on strengthening BALCO’s power backup system by centralising the system through SCADA. The initiative enabled better monitoring and analysis of data, helping identify potential issues at an early stage and take timely corrective measures.
The initiative also helped improve the reliability of power supply. In recognition of her contribution, Aruna was conferred with the plant’s highest honour, the ‘CEO Award’.
The journeys of BALCO’s women engineers reflect the changing face of the manufacturing industry. Their achievements show that with equal opportunities, organisational support and an enabling work environment, women can make significant contributions across the aluminium production value chain.
Their success is not only strengthening BALCO’s operations but also inspiring the next generation of women engineers to pursue careers in the manufacturing and technical sectors.
