There is one quality which a leader must possess to win the respect of others, and that is definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants, and a selfless dedication to one's mission. And Satwant Reddy, Secretary, Chemicals and Petrochemical is one of those rare individuals who have, over the years, inculcated all these virtues to win the respect of their juniors. Reddy, has commanded the respect of her men wherever she has worked, courtesy to her superb abilities as a leader.

An Indian Administrative official of 1971 batch of Punjab cadre, Reddy has worked on various capacities and in various departments including as Finance Secretary, Chandigarh Administration, additional secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, General Director, BIS and several others. And as a tribute to her initiatives, it could be rightly said that she left her mark wherever she worked. Always eager to take up fresh challenges, Reddy while joining her new assignment knew that by its very nature, chemical and petrochemical industry requires certain basic infrastructural facilities, including a good port, chemicals storage terminal, adequate berthing facilities and a common effluent treatment plant.

And not surprisingly she has, all the way worked hard to meet most of these requirements. Known for producing a wide range of products, the ministry, under Reddy has been able to effectively face the internationally competitive market and has come out with flying colours. In fact, the Chemical Industry, including the petrochemicals, alcohol-based chemicals and pharmaceutical sectors, have grown at a pace outperforming the overall growth of the Industry. And the woman giving impetus to the said growth has been none other than Reddy. Not only this, she while working as Director-General, BIS, was instrumental in strictly adhering to law book and was able to ensure safety and standardisation in various departments including petrochemicals.

She once said: "The BIS standards will set minimum acceptable specifications for design, construction and procurement of oil and gas transmission pipeline systems. This is not only intended to ensure safety of pipeline infrastructure, but also to lay down minimum technical compliance requirements." This certainly speaks volumes about the lady who wants rules to be implemented. Always willing to go an extra mile to make the law work, she is sure to do wonders to the Chemicals and Petrochemical ministry.