They dared. They believed.

Today, these women are playing a key role in shaping up India's

financial sector. Some are heading the top banks in India, while others are calling the shots as companys' CFOs. Here, is preview on these women (in no particular order) who have successfully challenged the limits of the so-called 'man's world'. Name: Chanda Kochhar Organisation: ICICI Ltd (now ICICI Bank) Designation: Managing director and CEO She began her career with ICICI as a management trainee in 1984 and from thereon successfully risen through the ranks by handling multidimensional assignments. Chanda Kochhar is ranked 20th in the Forbe's list of Most Powerful Women in the World, 2009, and ranked 25th in the Fortune's List of Most Powerful Women in Business, 2008.

Name: Naina Lal Kidwai Organisation: HSBC, India Designation: Group general manager and country head

The list of Naina Lal Kidwai's firsts is undoubtedly incredible: She was the first Indian
woman to graduate from Harvard Business School. Her first job was with Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers or PWC). This also made her the first woman to be hired by PWC. Now, she is the first woman to lead a foreign bank in India.

Name: Renu Sud Karnad Organsiation: Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Designation: Managing director

In January 2010, Renu Sud Karnad was appointed as the managing director of Housing
Development Finance Corporation (HDFC).

Name: Shikha Sharma Organisation: AXIS Bank Designation: Managing director and CEO

A student of IIM-A, Shikha Sharma began her career with ICICI (now ICICI Bank) in 1980.
After serving 18 years in ICICI, she quit the organisation to head Axis Bank in 2009.

Name: Kalpana Morparia Organisation: JP Morgan, India Designation: CEO

Kalpana Morparia was hired by JP Morgan, financial services giant, in 2007 to lead its India
operations. She started her career in 1975 with the legal department of ICICI (now ICICI Bank), and from there on rose to become a director on the company's board in 2001. She continued as a wholetime director till 2007 and was the bank's joint managing director.

Name: Manisha Girotra Designation: (Former) Managing Director, UBS India

Manisha Girotra was the chairperson and managing director of Swiss banking unit UBS in
India. She quit the organisation in November 2011. It is reported that Girotra may be headed for an entrepreneurial role in the private wealth management or private equity industry.

Name: Anita Prasad Organisation: Microsoft Designation: General Manager of Treasury Capital Management

Anita Prasad was recently named on the 2011 list of Treasury & Risk magazine's 100 Most
Influential People in Finance. She holds a Masters in Economics, an MBA in MIS, and a PhD in Finance and International Business.

Name: Renuka Ramanathan Organisation: Multiples Alternate Asset Management Designation: Founder and Managing Director

Renuka Ramanathan was the former MD and CEO of ICICI Venture. She quit the
organisation in 2009, after heading the fund since 2001.

Name: Vibha Padalkar Organisation: HDFC Life Designation: Chief Financial Officer

Vibha Padalkar joined HDFC Standard Life in August 2008 after a seven year stint as
executive vice president-finance at WNS Global Services. She became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1992, after having completed the last part of her schooling as well as college education in London.

Name: Rupa Vora Organisation: IDFC Private Equity Designation: Chief Financial Officer

A qualified Chartered Accountant, Rupa Vora started her career practicing independently.
After almost a decade in practice she moved on to the banking industry. Prior to IDFC, she worked with KBC Bank, Credit Lyonnais and Oman International Bank.

Name: Pratibha Advani Organisation: NIIT Technologies Designation: Chief Financial Officer

Prathibha Advani joined NIIT Technologies in 2010. Prior to joining NIIT, she was with
Barclays Shared Services Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Barclays Bank Plc.).

Name: Vishakha Mulye Organisation: ICICI Venture Funds Designation: Managing director and CEO

Vishakha Mulye started her career with the ICICI group in 1993. She is known to have
played a pivotal role in setting up the Special Asset Management Group, which was formed for proactive resolution of distressed assets. She has received the award for 'Most Powerful Women in Indian Business - 2007' from Business Today. She has also received the CA Corporate Leader Award 2008 (2nd in the 'CA Young leader - Female' category), organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The World Economic Forum also selected her as a 'Young Global Leader' for the year 2007.

Name: Sangeeta Sumesh Organisation: Dun & Bradstreet TransUnion ADSL Pvt Ltd Designation: Vice President Finance

She is recognised as an upcoming face in the finance world. A Chartered Accountant by

profession, she has over 15 years of experience.

Name: Sangeeta Gulati Organisation: Educomp Solutions Designation: Chief Financial Officer

Sangeeta Gulati joined Educomp Solutions in 2000. She is a Chartered Accountant and also
holds an M.Com and a B.Sc (Zoology).

Name: Richa Karpe Organisation: Altamount Capital Management Designation: Director, Investments

Richa Karpe has over 13 years of experience in the field of financial services. She holds a
MBA in Marketing and International Finance. Richa Karpe has worked with organisations like ANZ Grindlyas Bank and Morgan Stanley.

Name: Swati Kulkarni Organisation: UTI AMC Designation: Executive Vice President and Fund Manager

Swati Kulkarni has professional experience of 20 years of which last 19 years has been with
UTI AMC. She was recognised among the top three India's Best Fund Managers in Equity category by Outlook Money in 2010. Full list of the 84th Annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday: 1. Cinematography: Hugo. 2. Art Direction: Hugo. 3. Costume Design: The Artist. 4. Makeup: The Iron Lady. 5. Foreign Language Film: A Separation, Iran. 6. Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help.

7. Film Editing: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. 8. Sound Editing: Hugo. 9. Sound Mixing: Hugo. 10. Documentary Feature: Undefeated. 11. Animated Feature Film: Rango. 12. Visual Effects: Hugo. 13. Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners. 14. Original Score: The Artist. 15. Original Song: Man or Muppet from The Muppets. 16. Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants. 17. Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris. 18. Live Action Short Film: The Shore. 19. Documentary (short subject): Saving Face. 20. Animated Short Film: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. 21. Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist. 22. Actor: Jean Dujardin, The Artist. 23. Actress: Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady. 24. Best Picture: The Artist. Oscar winners previously presented this season: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award: Oprah Winfrey. Honorary Award: James Earl Jones. Honorary Award: Dick Smith. Gordon E. Sawyer Award: Douglas Trumbull. Award of Merit: ARRI cameras.

Starbucks Corp of USA, in a 50:50 JV with Tata Global, will open its first cafe outlets in India in August or September 2012. The formal launch of its foray into India comes a year after it signed a deal with Tata Global to buy coffee from India and open retail outlets in India. Vodafone has won a major battle in the Supreme Court which turned down the demand to pay Rs 11,000 crore by Income tax authorities, towards capital gains for purchasing Hutchison Ltds Indian mobile business in 2007. The SC Bench said that the Indian tax authorities had no jurisdiction over transactions done abroad. Japanese insurance major, Nippon Life Insurance, will buy a 26 per cent stake in Reliance mutual Fund for about Rs 1,450 crore. This is the single-largest FDI in the MF industry, and also the largest deal in the sector.

Eastman Kodak, the photography icon that invented the hand-held camera and helped bring the first pictures from the moon, has filed for bankruptcy protection, capping a prolonged plunge for one of USAs best-known companies. Jerry Yang, Yahoo Incs co-founder, has resigned following opposition from the shareholders. He had co-founded the company in 1995. Yahoo Inc. has named Scott Thompson, president of eBay Inc.s PayPal division, as its new CEO. HyAlfa, is the worlds first hydrogen-powered three-wheeler. It has been developed under a joint project by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra and IIT Delhi. Reliance Industries Ltd. and Network18 have announced a multi-layered deal, adding momentum to the convergence of media and telecom in India. With the help of funds from RIL, Netwrok18 will gain broadcasting access to 11 vernacular language channels and expand its overall portfolio to 25 channels. Network18 runs channels such as CNBC TV18 and CNN-IBN.

India Opens Stock Markets to Foreigners

January 2012 The Indian Government announced the opening of its stock markets to foreign individuals who would be able to directly buy and sell shares subject to certain terms. The reform aimed to boost foreign investments follows a sharp decline of 25% in Mumbai stock market last year. The reform will take effect from January 15, 2012.

Gujarat to become India's first special investment region

With the first two phases of town planning and zonation completed this month, the
country's first special investment region (SIR) at Dholera in Gujarat is set to take off. The endeavour in Ahmedabad district is likely to bring investment amounting to $90 billion to the western state over the next ten years. To be created around the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) with financial cooperation from Japan, the project has already attracted attention -- not just for its unique land acquisition model, but also for the financial and investment opportunities it will represent. A delegation of 150 senior management-level Japanese investors engaged in business ranging from manufacturing to banking to trading and logistics will be in Ahmedabad this Thursday to assess opportunities in what will be the world's first real smart city. An SIR is different from an SEZ (special economic zone) it is bigger and is not merely export-oriented; instead offers a range of services. In Dholera, for instance, a residential city

to grow vertically based on digital planning will coexist with industrial estates, a hub of financial and banking services and educational institutions.