Twelve-year-old Tasnim Pervin, daughter of a poor traditional medicine man from Inamnagar in Murshidabad’s Farakka, dreams of flying a plane.

Rani Tirki, 11, daughter of a farmhand from Jharkhand’s Sahebganj district, wants to become a teacher.

Both students of Class VI, they are among many girls from remote areas of Murshidabad and a pocket of Jharkhand who nurture big dreams.

Standing beside them in their journey is the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), one of India’s leading public sector undertakings in power generation. Through its flagship initiative—Girls Empowerment Mission (GEM)— the NTPC is playing a vital role in transforming these dreams into achievable goals.

In its latest endeavour, NTPC’s Farakka unit conducted a month-long residential camp for 120 underprivileged girls aged between 11 and 12 years, which ended on Saturday.

They comprised six schools from Malda, 12 schools from Murshidabad and six schools from Jharkhand’s Sahebganj district.

The initiative focuses on empowering girls from rural and economically weaker backgrounds through a comprehensive one-month residential workshop that helps build confidence, develop life skills, and promote gender equality.

The programme includes training in leadership, communication, physical and mental fitness, academics, and computer skills, along with exposure to yoga, self-defense, fine arts and cultural activities.

The camp provided guided lessons in mathematics, English, Hindi and basic computer applications, while also nurturing talents in dance, music, art and sports. Special
sessions were held to educate the girls about issues such as child marriage, health, hygiene and the importance of continuing education.

“We know that one month is too short a time to bring about complete change. But our goal was to instill the belief in them that their dreams matter—and that they can achieve them,” said an NTPC official associated with the project.

Another official stressed on efforts to raise awareness about early marriage, which remains a harsh reality in rural communities.

“In many cases, families try to marry off their daughters early to escape financial responsibility. We told the girls clearly that early marriage means the death of a dream. We encouraged them to dream big and to believe that those dreams are worth fighting for,” the official said.

The culmination of the workshop on Saturday was marked by a cultural event at the NTPC township in Farakka, where the girls shared their experiences and showcased their talents through dance and music performances before an audience that included NTPC officials and local dignitaries.

Ajay Singhal, executive director of NTPC Farakka, said: “Under the Girl Empowerment Mission, we try to help underprivileged girls realise their potential. We want every girl to dream as freely as boys do — and succeed.”

Alok Kumar Ranbir, general manager (human resources) of NTPC Farakka, said: “In future, we intend to offer free UPSC coaching to educated youth from Murshidabad, Malda and Sahebganj.”