Twinkle Kalia (born 1982) is an Indian woman who lives in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. She funds and drives ambulances. She was given the highest award for women, the

Nari Shakti Puraskar The Nari Shakti Puraskar () is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or to institutions that work towards the cause of women empowerment. It is presented by the presi ...

, in 2017.

Life

Kalia was born in 1980. When she came to marry her fiancé in 2002 he said that he did not want a dowry, but he did drive a rented ambulance and he would like to have his own. His driving force was that he had to go to work at 14 because his father went into a coma for six years. A coma he might not have had if the family hadn't wasted hours trying to find an ambulance. Kalia's moment was when she had liver cancer and realised the value of ambulances and care. She and her husband both sell insurance for a living but they have put all their spare cash into buying and operating ambulances. Kalia has also suffered from jaundice which she believes was caused by uncovered drains. She complained but nothing happened and she realised that the only way was to become a politician. Kalia stood for the local council in 2017. She was given the

award in 2019. The "2018" award was made in the Presidential Palace by the President of India. 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 ...

was present. In 2019, they had operations in other cities too and she and Himangshu Kalia met

Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee (; born 5 January 1955) is an Indian politician who is serving as the eighth and current List of chief ministers of West Bengal, chief minister of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal since 2 ...

and mayor

Firhad Hakim Firhad Hakim (born 1 January 1959) is an Indian politician serving since 2018 as the 38th mayor of Kolkata. He is also the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs and Housing in the Government of West Bengal. He is a MLA ...

to discuss setting up another of their groups of ambulances in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalia, Twinkle 1982 births Living people Insurance agents Nari Shakti Puraskar winners Ambulance services in India People from Delhi