Brands
Hindustan Zinc launches campaign to spotlight women in mining
Young women get first-hand experience in Stem and core operations
UDAIPUR: Hindustan Zinc is putting women in the spotlight with its new initiative, She Knows the Ground She Stands On, giving young women a chance to step directly into the world of mining and metals. Timed with the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, the campaign offers a hands-on peek at mining, smelting, and Stem careers, showing that the sector is no longer just a man’s world.
Over the next month, students from top Indian science colleges including IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, MNIT Jaipur, Banasthali Vidyapith, and MBM Jodhpur will tour operations, explore underground mines, visit smelters, and see labs in action. The first cohort, spanning disciplines from mechanical and mining engineering to geology and metallurgy, has already experienced life on the shop floor, discovering the scale, technology, and excitement of modern industrial operations.
For many, the experience was a revelation. MBM University Jodhpur’s mechanical engineering student Ankita Gour said, “It was amazing to see the theories from our books come alive in real life.” IIT (ISM) Dhanbad’s mining engineering student Shruti Kumari added, “Seeing women leading operations across all levels is inspiring. It shows that efficiency and capability know no gender.”
Hindustan Zinc employs over 700 women, including 200 engineers in core operational roles, and aims to reach 30 per cent women representation by 2030. CEO Arun Misra highlighted the importance of inclusion, saying, “Opening our operations to young women is about shifting perceptions, inspiring confidence, and building a future-ready workforce for the metals and mining sector.”
The company also offers flexible policies, wellness leave, extended parental sabbaticals, and even night shift roles for women. With digital advancements like robotics, automation, and remote mining, Hindustan Zinc is making technical roles more accessible and appealing, reinforcing mining as a vibrant, modern, and inclusive career path for women in science.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
