Jharkhand MLA Kalpana Soren Honoured with BRICS CCI Award | 26 Mar 2026

Why in News? 

Jharkhand MLA Kalpana Soren was conferred with the prestigious Women Empowerment Trailblazer Award at the 6th edition of the BRICS CCI WE Annual Women Summit and Felicitation 2026 held in New Delhi. 

Key Points 

• About: Kalpana Soren is a Member of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly, representing the Gandey constituency.  
  • She has been actively involved in social and community development work, particularly focusing on women’s empowerment and inclusion in socio‑economic processes.  
• Organiser: The three-day summit, organised by the BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry Women Empowerment Vertical (BRICS CCI WE) from 21st - 23rd March 2026. 
• Theme: It was held under the theme “Women in Innovation, Science Leadership, Innovation & Entrepreneurship (WISE) – Inspiring Change, Shaping Tomorrow.” 
  • The WISE initiative, first launched during the BRICS Women Business Alliance Annual Plenary Meeting in Rio de Janeiro in 2025, has since evolved into a global platform aimed at enabling ecosystem partnerships and advancing women-led innovation across geographies. 
• Other Awards: 
  • Veteran actor Shabana Azmi, honoured with the “Trailblazer: Living Legend” award. 
  • Debjani Ghosh, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. 
• BRICS: 
  • The inaugural BRIC Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2009 
  • The acronym BRIC originally represented Brazil, Russia, India, and China; South Africa joined later in 2010, making it BRICS. 
  • During the 6th BRICS Summit in Fortaleza, Brazil (2014), the leaders signed the Agreement establishing the New Development Bank (NDB).  
  • The group expanded in 2024 with the inclusion of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE. 
  • Indonesia became a member in 2025.