Social activist Dr. Nandini Azad has been honoured with the Bharat Samman 2026 for Women's Empowerment. She was recognised for decades of grassroots work that has helped lift hundreds of thousands of economically marginalised women. Dr. Azad is president of the Working Women's Forum (India), or WWF-I, and the Indian Cooperative Network for Women (ICNW), women-led movements that together have more than 6 lakh members across four southern States. The award was presented at a ceremony in Dehradun organised by the International Institute of Education & Management and the Economic Growth Foundation.