Dr. Vishva Jeotsna – An Inspiring Journey of an Award-Winning CEO, Social Entrepreneur, and Women's Empowerment Champion

 

Dr. Vishva Jeotsna, CEO, Vishva Jyotsna Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.

 

Could you introduce yourself to the audience?

Dr. Vishva Jeotsna is a nationally and internationally recognized social entrepreneur and development leader, committed to building an equitable society where empowered women drive sustainable change. As the CEO of Vishva Jyotsna Enterprises Pvt Ltd, a pioneering social venture based in Ghaziabad, she has dedicated over 25 years to transforming the lives of marginalized women, youth, and communities across India.

With a Doctorate in Women's Empowerment and an MBA from London, Dr. Vishva brings a rich blend of academic expertise and hands-on leadership experience. Her work spans across critical sectors including Menstrual Hygiene Management, Water and Sanitation, Community Development, Reproductive and Child Health, and Social Inclusion.

She has served in influential roles with organizations such as CARE India, AIIMS, the Indian Institute of Health Management and Research, and NITI Aayog (as State Team Lead). As former CEO of Prodigious Management Consultancy Pvt Ltd, she spearheaded the impactful Red Revolution campaign, educating and empowering millions of rural women and girls to lead healthier, more dignified lives.

Under her leadership, Vishva Jyotsna Enterprises focuses on promoting sustainable menstrual hygiene solutions, reducing environmental pollution, and contributing toward lower carbon emissions — linking women’s health with broader environmental and climate goals.

Dr. Vishva’s thought leadership is reflected in her numerous national and international publications, including contributions to the prestigious Social Values & Intangibles Review (UK). Her work has earned widespread recognition, including:

·         Emerging Market Scholarship Award (£11,000) from HRM Prince Michael of Kent (2008)

·         Excellence Award for Social Contribution from the French Embassy and Grenoble Ecole De Management (2014)

·         Exceptional Women of Excellence Award (Women Economic Forum, 2019)

·         International Inspirational Women Award (2020)

·         Women of Excellence Award (Indian Achievers Forum, 2021)

·         CSR Times Award for the Red Revolution campaign (2021)

·         Iconic Women Award (Global Women Economic Forum, 2022)

Dr. Vishva continues to wear many hats as a changemaker, strategist, mentor, and advocate working tirelessly to build healthier communities, foster social equity, and champion the cause of empowered women as catalysts of lasting transformation.

 

Can you tell us about the initiatives or ventures you've been involved in, and the kind of services they provide to communities or organizations?

Over the course of my career, I’ve had the privilege of leading and contributing to several transformative initiatives and ventures focused on community development, health, women’s empowerment, and sustainable social change​.

One of my major initiatives is the Red Revolution Campaign, which I spearheaded during my tenure as Director of Prodigious Management Consultancy and later as CEO of VJ Enterprises Pvt Ltd. This campaign is dedicated to transforming the lives of millions of rural women and girls by focusing on health education, menstrual hygiene awareness, empowerment, and building self-esteem. Through community outreach, workshops, and innovative educational tools, the initiative helps dismantle taboos and create healthier futures for women across India​.

Earlier in my career, I worked extensively with NITI Aayog’s District Transformation Program, where I led efforts to improve health and nutrition outcomes in aspirational districts of Rajasthan. My role involved strategic planning, building partnerships with government stakeholders, implementing health insurance schemes, and developing community-based health models like the Model VHSND (Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Day)​.

At Care India Solutions for Sustainable Development, I was involved in scaling up critical community-based programs such as Gram Varta, Community-led Total Sanitation, and initiatives addressing gender violence, ensuring that front-line services were integrated effectively with government structures​.

At Indian Institute of Health Management & Research, I was involved  in designing, strategizing, and implementing Community Participation techniques, Participatory Rural Appraisal in 1000 villages of Southern Rajasthan in a Water, Sanitation and Health Education Project and established a flawless water payment system and initiated a system for repairing of faults in rural area, built the skills, capacities of local communities in repairing and maintenance of water management system and created ownership for the water management system and created sustainable water management systems.

In each venture, the services provided focused on capacity building, community mobilization, strategic health interventions, and policy advocacy, all aimed at empowering vulnerable communities and creating sustainable development models.

These experiences have allowed me to not only design and implement large-scale projects but also to inspire systemic change by working at the grassroots and policy levels simultaneously.

 

What motivated you to pursue a career that bridges social sciences, management, and entrepreneurship, and how did you identify key opportunities in these fields?

 

My journey bridging social sciences, management, and entrepreneurship has been deeply personal and purpose-driven. From the early stages of my career, working closely with marginalized communities on issues like nutrition, women’s rights, and public health, I saw that real change wasn’t just about delivering aid — it was about empowering people, building sustainable systems, and challenging existing structures.

My academic background — with a Ph.D. in Sociology and an MBA from a globally reputed institution — gave me both the lens to understand human and societal behavior and the skills to manage complex projects and teams. But beyond degrees, what truly motivated me was witnessing how systemic issues like poverty, gender inequality, and health disparities intertwined, and realizing that meaningful solutions had to be both compassionate and strategic.

Opportunities weren’t always obvious — they often revealed themselves when I spent time in the field, listened deeply to the communities I served, and noticed patterns of unmet needs. Initiatives like the Red Revolution campaign, working in aspirational districts with NITI Aayog, and leading Prodigious Management Consultancy allowed me to turn these insights into action. Entrepreneurship, for me, became a tool — not just to build businesses — but to build movements, mobilize resources, and inspire large-scale change.

Every project, every role has reinforced my belief: lasting impact happens when we blend the heart of social science, the discipline of management, and the courage of entrepreneurship.

 

How has your leadership style, particularly your ability to influence and communicate effectively, contributed to your professional growth and project success?

 

Over the years, my leadership style has evolved to be highly collaborative, empathetic, and results-oriented. Having led diverse teams across rural and urban India — in projects ranging from community development to healthcare and women’s empowerment — I realized early on that leadership is less about authority and more about influence and inspiration.

Effective communication has been at the heart of my growth. Whether engaging with grassroots communities, government stakeholders, donors, or my own teams, I’ve always focused on listening first — truly understanding different perspectives — and then communicating with clarity, empathy, and purpose. This approach helped me build trust quickly, even in complex or high-pressure environments.

For instance, while leading the Red Revolution campaign, the success we achieved wasn't just due to technical expertise but because I could align a wide range of stakeholders — from local leaders to frontline workers — around a shared vision. Similarly, in my roles with NITI Aayog and Care India, influencing systemic change at the district and state levels required persistent advocacy, respectful dialogue, and strategic negotiation skills.

My ability to create an open environment where people feel valued has allowed me to retain and motivate high-performing teams, manage large-scale programs efficiently, and deliver measurable social impact. In many ways, communication and leadership have been the bridges between vision and execution throughout my career.

 

Could you walk us through your professional journey, highlighting some of the key milestones and achievements that have defined your path?

 

My professional journey has been shaped by a deep commitment to social change, strategic leadership, and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. It began in the mid-1990s, where, as a Field Editor and then Project Coordinator at the Indian Institute of Health Management and Research, I worked closely with grassroots communities, pioneering community participation models in health and sanitation across Rajasthan​.

Building on this foundation, I expanded my impact during my time as a Consultant with SAMPARK, where I focused on strengthening reproductive child health programs, building public-private partnerships, and promoting small family norms — a key milestone that helped me blend social research with action on the ground​.

A turning point came when I pursued advanced education — earning an MBA from Grenoble Graduate Business School (France), coupled with a Ph.D. in Sociology. This academic rigor enhanced my strategic thinking, management, and leadership skills​.

Over the next decade, I took on increasingly strategic roles, including as a Social Development Expert at CARE India and later as a Strategic Planning Specialist for the UP Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Project, where I led health communication and knowledge management strategies​.

In 2018, a significant milestone was my appointment as the State Team Leader for District Transformation under NITI Aayog. Here, I contributed to improving health and nutrition outcomes in Rajasthan’s most aspirational districts, working at the intersection of government systems, community engagement, and innovation​.

Further amplifying my entrepreneurial drive, I founded and led major initiatives like the Red Revolution Campaign through Prodigious Management Consultancy and later through VJ Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., transforming the lives of millions of rural women and girls by promoting health education, Menstrual Hygiene education, empowerment, and self-esteem​.

Throughout this journey, my work has been recognized with prestigious awards — including the Exceptional Women of Excellence Award by the Global Women Economic Forum, the Alumni Excellence Award from Grenoble Ecole de Management, and the Iconic Women Award in 2022​.

Each milestone — from grassroots health initiatives to leading national campaigns — has been guided by a consistent philosophy: combining deep social understanding with sharp management skills to drive sustainable, scalable impact.

 

With expertise in areas like program implementation, social welfare, capacity building, and policy liaison, how have these skills played a role in your success?

My expertise in program implementation, social welfare, capacity building, and policy liaison has been fundamental to the impact I’ve been able to create throughout my career. Each of these skills has complemented the other — allowing me to design holistic solutions, drive large-scale initiatives, and foster sustainable change.

In program implementation, my focus has always been on creating models that are not just effective on paper but work in the real-world complexities of rural and marginalized settings. For example, while leading the Red Revolution campaign, it was my hands-on understanding of field realities and structured program management that allowed us to reach millions of women and girls and create measurable improvements in their health and confidence​.

Social welfare has been my lens — ensuring that every project, whether in health, sanitation, or education, was rooted in the real needs and rights of the people we aimed to serve. My academic grounding in sociology and human rights helped me keep social justice and inclusion at the core of every intervention​.

Capacity building has played a crucial role, too. Whether training health workers in aspirational districts under NITI Aayog, or building motivated teams within my consultancy, investing in people — their skills, knowledge, and leadership — has always been the key multiplier effect behind program success​.

Finally, policy liaison — the ability to work hand-in-hand with government bodies, align projects with national and state priorities, and advocate for systemic change — has ensured that our initiatives did not remain isolated efforts, but contributed to broader movements and policy shifts. It allowed me to build partnerships that sustained long after project funding cycles ended​.

Together, these skills have allowed me to operate at the intersection of grassroots action and strategic influence — delivering impact that is deep, scalable, and sustainable.

 

How do you stay informed about emerging trends and innovations, and what guidance would you offer to students who are trying to choose the right career direction?

 

Staying informed about emerging trends and innovations is a continuous, deliberate effort for me. I actively engage with a wide network of development professionals, attend national and international conferences, contribute to academic forums, and closely follow research publications and policy updates in fields like social innovation, public health, and women’s empowerment. I also believe in learning directly from the field — spending time with communities, listening to their evolving challenges, and observing grassroots innovations that often go unnoticed in formal reports.

In today’s fast-changing world, I believe it’s equally important to stay adaptable — to embrace new technologies, fresh models of community engagement, and innovative financing mechanisms, while always anchoring solutions in the cultural and social realities of the people we serve.

For students trying to choose the right career direction, my advice would be: Follow your curiosity and your sense of purpose. Don't rush to fit into trends; instead, seek experiences that expose you to real-world problems. Be open to interdisciplinary learning — today's challenges rarely belong to one field alone. Build a strong foundation in values like empathy, resilience, and integrity, because technical skills can always be upgraded, but character and vision will define your long-term success.

Finally, remember: careers are not linear anymore. It’s not about having a perfect plan from the beginning, but about being courageous enough to take the first step and wise enough to evolve along the way.