Chetna Gala Sinha
Chetna Gala Sinha is an Indian social activist working to empower women in drought-prone areas of rural India by teaching entrepreneurial skills.
Empowering orator inspiring social change and women entrepreneurship.
Rajeev Singh
ITWatch Chetna Gala Sinha Deliver Impactful Motivational Sessions
mumbai
english, hindi, marathi
10+ years
grassroot leadership, climate, social change, women empowerment, financial literacy
About Chetna Gala Sinha
Chetna Gala Sinha is one of India’s most respected social entrepreneurs and grassroots leaders, globally recognised for transforming the economic lives of rural women. She is the Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank, India’s first cooperative bank created for and by rural women, and the Founder-President of the Mann Deshi Foundation, an organisation that enables women from drought-prone regions to become financially independent entrepreneurs.
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank made history by becoming the first rural cooperative bank in India to receive a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Since its inception, the bank and foundation together have positively impacted over 3,10,000 women, offering access to savings accounts, micro-loans, pension schemes, business training, and financial literacy. Under Chetna’s leadership, women who were once excluded from the formal economy have gone on to build sustainable businesses, farms, and community enterprises.
Between 2024 and 2025, Mann Deshi expanded its focus on climate-resilient livelihoods, digital banking access, and sports-based empowerment through its flagship initiatives like Mann Deshi Champions, which nurtures young girls from rural India to pursue sports careers alongside education and financial independence.
Her leadership has earned her international recognition. She chaired the 48th Annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, becoming one of the few grassroots leaders from India to do so. She is a recipient of the Entrepreneurship Development Award by Entrepreneurs’ International, the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Amodini Award, and several global honours recognising her courage and innovation in social entrepreneurship. As a motivational speaker, Chetna Gala Sinha brings powerful, real-world insights on women-led development, financial inclusion, leadership from the margins, and building sustainable impact at scale.
Chetna Gala Sinha is one of India’s most respected social entrepreneurs and grassroots leaders, globally recognised for transforming the economic lives of rural women. She is the Founder and Chairperson of Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank, India’s first cooperative bank created for and by rural women, and the Founder-President of the Mann Deshi Foundation, an organisation that enables women from drought-prone regions to become financially independent entrepreneurs.
Mann Deshi Mahila Sahkari Bank made history by becoming the first rural cooperative bank in India to receive a license from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Since its inception, the bank and foundation together have positively impacted over 3,10,000 women, offering access to savings accounts, micro-loans, pension schemes, business training, and financial literacy. Under Chetna’s leadership, women who were once excluded from the formal economy have gone on to build sustainable businesses, farms, and community enterprises.
Between 2024 and 2025, Mann Deshi expanded its focus on climate-resilient livelihoods, digital banking access, and sports-based empowerment through its flagship initiatives like Mann Deshi Champions, which nurtures young girls from rural India to pursue sports careers alongside education and financial independence.
Her leadership has earned her international recognition. She chaired the 48th Annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, becoming one of the few grassroots leaders from India to do so. She is a recipient of the Entrepreneurship Development Award by Entrepreneurs’ International, the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Amodini Award, and several global honours recognising her courage and innovation in social entrepreneurship. As a motivational speaker, Chetna Gala Sinha brings powerful, real-world insights on women-led development, financial inclusion, leadership from the margins, and building sustainable impact at scale.
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Career Highlights and Achievements of Chetna Gala Sinha
Founder, Mann Deshi Mahila Bank
Founded India’s first rural bank licensed by RBI
Women Empowerment Leader
Impacted over 310,000 rural women, providing financial services
Chairperson, WEF Annual Meeting
Chaired the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos
Entrepreneurship Development award
Honoured by Entrepreneurs’ International, Pune for exemplary work
Social Activist & Speaker
Actively engages in speaking events and forums
Rural Financial Inclusion Pioneer
Pioneered initiatives for cooperative banking, microfinance etc
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Showcasing some prominent images and videos of Chetna Gala Sinha including our previous events and other endeavors.
Chetna Gala Sinha
Chetna Gala Sinha is an Indian social activist working to empower women in drought-prone areas of rural India by teaching entrepreneurial skills.
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FAQs
Chetna Gala Sinha is an Indian social entrepreneur and founder of Mann Deshi Bank and the Mann Deshi Foundation, listed as a motivational speaker on engage4more. She set up one of India's first banks for and by rural women in 1997.
All three refer to the same person. Her name is usually written Chetna Gala Sinha, though she is also searched as Chetana Gala Sinha or Chetna Sinha. engage4more lists her as a speaker on financial inclusion.
Chetna Gala Sinha, featured on engage4more, founded the Mann Deshi Mahila Sahakari Bank in 1997 in drought-prone Mhaswad, Maharashtra, as a cooperative bank run for and by rural women to give them access to savings and credit.
engage4more's profile notes that Chetna Gala Sinha's Mann Deshi Foundation runs business schools for rural women, a community radio station, chambers of commerce for micro-entrepreneurs and water conservation work across drought-affected regions.
engage4more's profile notes that Chetna Gala Sinha has received the Nari Shakti Puraskar and has been a Yale World Fellow, a Schwab Foundation social entrepreneur and an Ashoka Fellow for her work in rural financial inclusion.
Yes, engage4more notes that Chetna Gala Sinha was one of the seven women who co-chaired the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos in January 2018, recognising her work on financial inclusion and women's empowerment.
engage4more features Chetna Gala Sinha for talks on financial inclusion, rural entrepreneurship, women's empowerment and grassroots social change, sharing how she built banking and business institutions from scratch in underserved regions.
engage4more does not share personal phone numbers or email IDs of listed speakers. For speaking events, contact engage4more at activities@engage4more.com or +91-8044186906. For banking or foundation matters, please use Mann Deshi's official channels.
engage4more lists Chetna Gala Sinha's speaker profile and facilitates booking enquiries for corporate, CSR, banking and social impact events. Share your event details through her profile's contact form, and the team will help coordinate availability.
engage4more recommends Chetna Gala Sinha for CSR summits, financial inclusion and banking conferences, women's empowerment forums and development sector events, given her decades of hands-on work building institutions for rural women entrepreneurs.
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