Meet the women who took over PM Modi's social media accounts

A crusader against hunger, a disability activist and an entrepreneur were among the seven women achievers who took over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's social media accounts on International Women's Day on Sunday.

They shared "share their life journeys" after Prime Minister Modi signed off from his Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts as he had promised last Monday, reported Hindustan Times.

"Greetings on International Women's Day! We salute the spirit and accomplishments of our Nari Shakti. As I'd said a few days ago, I'm signing off. Through the day, seven women achievers will share their life journeys and perhaps interact with you through my social media accounts," Modi tweeted on Sunday.

"India has outstanding women achievers in all parts of the nation. These women have done great work in a wide range of sectors. Their struggles and aspirations motivate millions. Let us keep celebrating the achievements of such women and learning from them," he said.

Sneha Mohandoss, the founder of Food Bank India, was the first to tweet from PM Modi's Twitter handle. She posted a video as well to introduce herself and what she does.

Her posts also popped up on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube accounts of the Prime Minister.

Next was Malvika Iyer, for whom "giving up is never an option". She lost both her hands and severely damaged her legs in a bomb blast when she was 13 years old.

"Acceptance is the greatest reward we can give to ourselves. We can't control our lives but we surely can control our attitude towards life. At the end of the day, it is how we survive our challenges that matters most. Know more about me and my work- @MalvikaIyer," Iyer tweeted from Modi's account.

Arifa, an entrepreneur who is working to revive the traditional felted craft Namda of Kashmir, was another woman who told her story on these social media platforms.

"This gesture by PM @narendramodi has boosted my morale and it'll help me to work harder for the betterment of craft as well as the artisans all over Kashmir. I feel it is important for more women to focus on becoming self-reliant and help other women," Arifa said.

A water warrior, Kalpana Ramesh, was the next woman to share what she does.

"I never imagined I could bring back birds to a lake or tweet from our PMs handle. With a firm resolve, the impossible can emerge. We can bring a change in the communities with collective action on how we manage water resources. Let us be become problem solvers (sic)," Ramesh tweeted from the account.

"Be a warrior but of a different kind! Be a water warrior. Have you ever thought about water scarcity? Each one of us can collectively act to create a water secure future for our children Here is how I am doing my bit. @kalpana_designs"

"Small efforts can make a big impact. Water is a valuable inheritance we got. Lets not deprive our next generations. Contribute by using water responsibly, harvesting rainwater, saving lakes, recycling used water and creating awareness (sic)," she urged.

The Prime Minister, who is one of the most followed personalities on social media in India, had said he was thinking of giving up his social media accounts and left his followers wondering about his move.

Thousands of his followers retweeted, replied and questioned his decision and asked him to rethink.

The next day he tweeted again to say that he will give his social accounts to women whose lives and work "inspires us" on International Women's Day.

With 53.3 million followers on Twitter, PM Modi is among the most-followed political leaders in the world on the social microblogging site.

He is also the most followed leader on Facebook with 44 million following his page and 35.2 million following him on Instagram, the photo and video sharing app. On YouTube, he has 4.5 million subscribers.