A journey of many milestones | Anandi Ramalingam, the woman who defied the odds

Anandi Ramalingam was influenced by her father, T N Periaswamy, a civil engineer with the Indian Railways, who pursued his profession with great sincerity and passion.

I was keen to interview Anandi Ramalingam in 2022, but knowing she was busy as the Chairperson and Managing Director of Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), I decided to wait. When I finally called her up after her retirement, she was already in Delhi, serving as the Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission. I flew down to meet her. Sitting across from her in her office, where she held a high ranking post appointed by the President of India, I felt both proud and vindicated.

Half a century ago, as young girls aspiring to enter engineering, we were often told that engineering was not ‘the field’ for women. But here was a woman who had excelled in the field of technology, business administration and good governance. Now, she was the Information Commissioner.

Her success, no doubt, highlights women’s potential and achievements but her journey is not merely a story of individual success. It is also about a father who encouraged his daughters to dream, a husband who celebrated his wife’s achievements and a son who understood early on that a mother’s career matters.  

Born in 1962 in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, Anandi was influenced by her father, T N Periaswamy, a civil engineer with the Indian Railways, who pursued his profession with great sincerity and passion. He fostered Anandi’s dream of becoming an engineer.

In 1984, she graduated in Electronics and Communication Engineering from PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore and was soon recruited by BEL. When she joined BEL on March 1, 1985, Bengaluru became her home.

After initial training, she was posted as a deputy engineer in the Low Power Equipment (LPE) division, where she began working on radio transmitters and receivers. The division later diversified into Digital Communication Systems R&D.

In 1988, she married P Ramalingam, a bank officer whose frequent transfers meant that Anandi stayed back in Bengaluru to pursue her career while raising their son, born in 1989. Her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, who were professionals themselves, ensured she was never pressured to give up her job to follow her husband.

In service of nation

Working in a defence public sector undertaking (PSU) came with its own set of challenges, including being at Armed Forces bases for weapon trials where even basic facilities like ladies toilets were sometimes lacking. Yet, as she puts it, “The satisfaction of working for the nation is an overwhelming experience; that’s what keeps us going.”

In mid 2000s, her contributions to projects such as ‘Shakti’, the Artillery Combat Command and Control System (ACCCS) brought her national recognition and soon, she was part of the team formed to set up the Marketing Division for the Military Communication and Electronic Warfare Strategic Business Unit (SBU). 

She acknowledges mentors who, at a time when patriarchy was deeply entrenched, never hesitated to entrust women with greater responsibilities and opportunities. 

In 2009, she was promoted as an additional general manager and a year later, she moved to BEL’s International Marketing Division, where she led Defence Offsets and contributed significantly to BEL’s export growth.

Breaking barriers

Her career progression hit a brief hurdle during an interview for the post of general manager, which required relocation to Delhi. “That was my first brush with discrimination,” she recalled. In that interview, she was asked who would take care of her home and children if she moved to Delhi, a question rarely posed to male candidates. At the time, her son was studying at Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad. She laughs now at the absurdity of the question but acknowledges the disappointment. BEL has a robust gender equality policy. Yet an individual’s bias can slip through the system. However, she did not allow such setbacks to affect her work.

In 2014, she became the general manager and moved to Delhi’s National Marketing Division. In 2016, she made history as BEL’s first woman whole-time director. In July 2021, she broke another barrier, becoming the first woman chairperson and managing director of BEL. In 2022, she received the Chanakya Award for Good Governance from the Public Relations Council of India.

I asked her, borrowing from Indra Nooyi, whether she “hid her crown in the garage” when she returned home. She laughed. “There is absolutely no need; my husband and son celebrate my successes,” she said.

It was heartening to hear her add that today, nearly 30% of general managers and executive directors at BEL are women, a quiet but powerful testament to change.

In 2016 Anandi Ramalingam made history as Bharat Electronics Ltd’s first woman whole-time director and in July 2021 she became its first woman chairperson and managing director.

Anandi Ramalingam. Photo by author

In 2016 Anandi Ramalingam made history as Bharat Electronics Ltd’s first woman whole-time director and in July 2021 she became its first woman chairperson and managing director.