The decades of 1980s and 1990s saw a rising awareness about the vital role that women's empowerment plays in the holistic development of a country. Incentivising women's higher education became a policy agenda for many developing nations. India also has taken various formal steps to enhance women's visibility in different walks of life with much success in the arena of education. Read more

"Vidya Vindatey Amritam"
Knowledge Provides Immortal Bliss.

Established in 1879, Bethune College ushered in, for the women of the nineteenth century, a new era of enlightenment and edification through education. This is a Government College under the aegis of the Department of Higher Education, West Bengal. Accredited in 2006 with the 'A' grade and having acquired the coveted status of College with Potential for Excellence (CPE) by UGC and recognised by DST-FIST. Bethune College has celebrated 135 long years of tireless striving for knowledge which enriches the mind and ennobles the soul. The mission of the College has always been the development of a complete woman. Bethune College is committed to the cause of empowerment of women from all sectors including those who are socially and economically deprived through access to higher education enabling them to transform into intellectually vibrant, socially responsible, self-reliant women. Today women are leaders who epitomise the human values of caring, sharing and re-building societies sans stress and violence. The College provides literary and scientific education as well as empowers the students to be honest citizens of the nation. Read more

Dr. Neena Gupta,
a mathematical prodigy

Stood First class First in the Mathematics Honours examination of the Calcutta University in 2006 from Bethune College, Kolkata. She completed her Post Graduation in Mathematics from the Indian Statistical Institute of Kolkata in 2008 and obtained her Ph.D. degree from the same Institute in 2011 with Algebraic Geometry as her field of specialization.

Thereafter it has been a dream journey for this budding young mathematician. She solved the "Zariski Cancellation Problem", which remained unresolved for nearly 70 years. In 2014, the Indian National Science Academy awarded her the INSA Young Scientist Award and in the citation, the Academy described her solution as "one of the best works in Algebraic Geometry in recent years done anywhere".  Read more