Rajasthan woman spends day as British envoy

Twenty-year-old Aditi Maheshwari from Rajasthan has spent a full day leading the British High Commission in New Delhi after winning a competition.

Aditi, who aspires to join the Indian Administrative Service, is the fifth winner of the India edition of the ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ competition, organised annually since 2017 to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child (October 11).

As the UK’s top diplomat in India, Aditi experienced a broad variety of diplomatic activity. She observed the India-UK Energy for Growth Dialogue alongside Ministers Raj Kumar Singh and Kwasi Kwarteng.

She met with beneficiaries of a leadership programme for aspiring female politicians funded by the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund; climate experts from the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), who signed the UK in India Pledge for Progress, to show their leadership in gender equality; and young leaders from the not-for-profit Global Youth.

Aditi’s packed day also included a hands-on demonstration of the I-PACE - Jaguar’s zero emissions, all-electric performance SUV to be used by world leaders at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow next month.

Aditi Maheshwari said: “I had applied for the competition last year as well and I’m really pleased that I got the opportunity. The interaction with senior diplomats and with women from ‘She Leads’ leadership programme were the two personal highlights of the day for me. I also enjoyed being driven around in an electric vehicle by the High Commissioner. The amount of work that both the UK and India are doing to tackle issues like climate change and gender inequality made me really hopeful as a young woman. I will cherish this day for a long time to come.”

Alex Ellis, Deputy High Commissioner for the Day (on other days, High Commissioner to India), said: “It was a pleasure for me to work with Aditi throughout the day. Her confidence and thoughtfulness on important issues like climate change and women’s rights shone through. The UK is working with India to provide a platform for young women like Aditi to help them reach their potential. I am pleased that so many young girls sent in their entries for this year’s competition which focussed on climate change.”

He said that women are disproportionately affected by climate change and are often left out of decision making on it. “The UK is committed to hosting an inclusive COP26 that advances gender equality by calling on all countries to implement the Gender Action Plan agreed at COP25,” Ellis added.