Rashmi Urdhwardeshe born Rashmi Ranade (born c.1959) is an Indian automotive engineer. She is the director of the Automotive Research Association of India. In March 2020 she received the Nari Shakti Puraskar.

Life

Urdhwareshe was born in

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

in 1959. In 1977 she opted to study at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur

Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and then completed her post graduation from COEP in

Automotive Engineering Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of Mechanical engineering, mechanical, Electrical engineering, electrical, Electronic engineering, electro ...

, which was then an unusual and challenging choice of career for a woman in India. There were few women (and not many toilets) at the engineering college and automotive was usually an all-male preserve. left, President Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Nari Shakti Puruskar to Rashmi Urdhwareshe watched by the Minister for Women Smriti Irani ">Smriti Irani">Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Nari Shakti Puruskar to Rashmi Urdhwareshe watched by the Minister for Women Smriti Irani She was trained in electronic engineering and helped to develop controls for the hydraulics of testing machines and then on emission control. She helped develop methods of measurement of emissions at what was the first Indian laboratory studying emissions. Her areas of expertise are automotive safety, Exhaust gas, emissions and ambient air quality (Air quality management, AQM), E-mobility, sustainable transport, vehicle regulation, homologation, etc. She is an expert on total quality management and co-authored a book on the subject. She was keen on sport as a girl, learned to play the sitar and in time she was a champion at Bridge for her state. She was chosen to be the next director of the Automotive Research Association of India in 2014. In March 2020, her work in 2019 was recognised with the highest award for women in India. The Nari Shakti Puraskar was given by the President of India

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

recognising her work over 35 years work in automotive research and development. At the time she was based in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

so she travelled to get the award in Delhi at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Center. The award is made to women who have worked exceptionally for

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several method, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, equal status in society, ...

. After the ceremony Urdhwardeshe complimented the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

for his work in this area noting the largely untapped potential of under educated women in India. Rashmi Urdhwareshe is the incoming President of SAE India.

Private life

Her husband Hemant Urdhwareshe is also an engineer. He cared for their fourteen-month-old child, Sarang Urdhwareshe, while his wife was in Germany for six months.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Urdhwardeshe, Rashmi 1960 births Living people People from Nagpur Indian mechanical engineers Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Women automotive engineers