Coal India Breaks New Ground: SECL Korba Launches First All-Women Central Store Unit

Raipur, Chhattisgarh: In a landmark step towards gender inclusion and empowerment in India’s core industrial sector, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL), inaugurated the company’s first-ever all-women-operated Central Store Unit at its Central Workshop in Korba on Saturday. The pioneering initiative, launched under the Government of India’s Special Campaign 5.0, underscores Coal India’s commitment to promoting women’s participation across operational and technical domains. It follows the successful establishment of the company’s first all-women-operated dispensary at Vasant Vihar, Bilaspur earlier this year—further strengthening Coal India’s resolve of “Nari Shakti se Rashtra Shakti” (Women’s Power is Nation’s Power).

The newly inaugurated Central Store Unit will be managed entirely by a dedicated team of eight women officers and staff members, led by Ms. Sapna Ikka, Senior Manager (Electrical & Mechanical) and an alumna of the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. The team will oversee all aspects of spare-parts supply and inventory management through a modern SAP-based digital system, ensuring efficiency, transparency, and accountability in operations.

The inauguration ceremony commenced with a traditional lamp-lighting followed by the formal ribbon-cutting by Shri Harish Duhan, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, SECL, in the presence of N. Franklin Jaykumar, Director (Technical/ Operations); Biranchi Das, Director (Human Resources); R.C. Mahapatra, Director (Technical/ Planning & Projects); and Himanshu Jain, Chief Vigilance Officer, SECL. Outstanding women employees were also felicitated for their contributions on the occasion.

Speaking on the milestone initiative, Harish Duhan said that the launch marks a new chapter in SECL’s journey of inclusion. “After the successful establishment of Coal India’s first women-operated dispensary in Bilaspur, we are proud to inaugurate another pioneering step in Korba. Such initiatives are in line with the vision of Hon’ble Minister of Coal Shri G. Kishan Reddy, who advocates for greater participation of women in the coal sector and creation of leadership opportunities for them,” he added.

Earlier, G.K. Dwivedi, General Manager (Workshop), delivered the welcome address while Balram Tandon, Staff Officer (Human Resources), proposed the vote of thanks. The event was coordinated by the SECL Central Workshop, Korba team. The all-women Central Store Unit at SECL Korba is expected to serve as a model of inclusive growth within the mining and energy industry, paving the way for similar women-led operational units across Coal India Limited’s subsidiaries in the future.