Hindustan Zinc Limited (BSE: 500188 | NSE: HINDZINC), the world’s largest integrated zinc producer, is marking India’s 80th Independence Day by highlighting its efforts to expand women’s participation in both rural enterprise and modern manufacturing.The company’s initiatives span rural Rajasthan, where women are building independent livelihoods and businesses, and Hindustan Zinc’s mines and smelters, where women are taking up roles in engineering, operations, automation, artificial intelligence and digitalisation.
Through its flagship Sakhi programme, Hindustan Zinc has connected more than 25,000 rural women through Self-Help Groups, providing access to savings, credit, entrepreneurial training and livelihood opportunities. The programme aims to help women move from informal work towards more stable and independent sources of income.
Farzana, a production associate with Sakhi Utpadan Samiti, moved from informal domestic work into structured textile and FMCG production. She now earns around ₹3.47 lakh annually. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her unit also produced cloth masks, helping maintain incomes while meeting local requirements.
Hindustan Zinc is also supporting women engaged in agriculture and livestock through its Samadhan initiative. Prem Bai Vyas from Matoon village expanded her dairy business from around 10 litres of milk a day to approximately 85 litres. She now earns more than ₹90,000 a month, receives payments directly into her bank account and independently manages a 20-cattle unit.
Amarendu Prakash, CEO, Hindustan Zinc, said economic independence gives individuals greater control over their future. He added that the company is working to create opportunities that allow women in rural communities to develop enterprises while also enabling young women professionals to contribute to advanced industrial technologies.
Women currently account for 26.3% of Hindustan Zinc’s workforce, the highest reported level in India’s metals and mining sector, while 62% of employees are below 35 years of age. Women employees are increasingly working across core operations, including underground mining, heavy equipment, process control and mine rescue activities. They are also taking leadership roles in automation, AI, machine learning and digital technologies.
Under the Tejaswini initiative, all-women teams are managing shifts in the Leaching & Purification section at the Chanderiya Smelting Complex, one of the company’s major manufacturing locations.
At Zinc Smelter Debari, Swapnil Thori, Lead – Digitalisation and an IIT Delhi graduate, is working on AI and machine learning applications across smelters and power plants. Her work covers areas including consumable optimisation, predictive maintenance and process integration.
Hindustan Zinc said these initiatives form part of its broader focus on inclusion, skills development and community development. The company aims to create greater access to education, livelihoods and industrial careers as India works towards its Viksit Bharat @2047 goals.
Hindustan Zinc Limited, a Vedanta Group company, is the world’s largest integrated zinc producer and among the world’s top 10 silver producers. The company supplies products to more than 40 countries and holds around 74% of India’s primary zinc market. It has been recognised as the world’s most sustainable company in the metals and mining category by the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment for three consecutive years through 2025.:::
