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Charu Sharma (born March 24, 1992) is an Indian explorer, athlete and performer. She was named a “Power Woman” alongside Oprah Winfrey, Melinda Gates, Sonia Gandhi and Devita Saraf by Youth Incorporated magazine in their March 2012 issue. After expeditions to all 7 continents, 5 National Awards and a chapter on her in class IX English textbook in Maharashtra while still in her teens, she is one of India’s most promising young achievers.

Early life and education
Charu Sharma was born on March 24, 1992 in Jaipur in a family of civil servants, doctors, and engineers. Her father Dr. Anil Sharma (MD, DM, and FACC) is one of India’s most successful cardiologists and her brother Chinmay Sharma represented India at a football championship in Paris in 2011. Sharma attended The Blossom S.T. English School in Mumbai, where she was the School Leader. She received 95% in SSC, and gained admission in the prestigious DG Ruparel College in the Science faculty for Class XI and XII. She completed her HSC with distinction and got full marks scores on the exams required by American universities. She currently attends Mount Holyoke College in USA on a scholarship.

Awards and Accolades
Sharma is a recipient of 5 National Awards.
 * 2009: National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in Academics
 * 2006: FIE Foundation National Award for Sports and Adventure (with INR 1 lac; alongside Rani Mukherjee, Anjali Bhagwat, Ramoji Rao, Vithal Kamat and Om Puri.)
 * 2003: Jeevan Raksha Padak (President’s Medal for Gallantry)
 * 2003: National Bravery Award
 * 2002: National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement in All-round fields

Sharma has received more than a thousand awards in several fields such as academics, athletics and performing arts

She is a national abacus champion, and has won gold medals in National Science Olympiad and National Cyber Olympiad exams. She had an exceptional academic record throughout schooling and exceled in debating and writing.

She started dancing on stage at the age of 2, and has since performed over 600 stage shows in dance and theater around the world. She has acted in TV shows such as Shaktiman and plays, and has won ‘Best actress’ awards.

Sharma holds Black-belts in Karate and Taekwondo, and represented Indian in the International Taekwondo Championship in Chuncheon, South Korea in 2009. She has competed in [swimming, track and field, jump-rope, tug-o-war, roller skating, fencing and volleyball at state, national and international levels. She has traveled to all the 7 continents. She went on an expedition to study penguin species in Antarctica in December 2011. She has met with top politicians such as Nancy Pelosi in Washington DC and interned with the Chief Political Adviser to President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Chairman of the Opposition political party in Tbilisi, Georgia where she gave a presentation on the political issues prevalent in India and the US. She represented India at a cultural conference in Italy and a Taekwondo Championship in South Korea in 2009.

She conducted Marine Geosciences Research at Mystic Seaport, and continues to work with Oceanographers, NASA scientists and Physicists.

Train Robbery Episode
Charu Sharma (then 9) and her brother Chinmay Sharma (then 6) fought in a train robbery and saved women in a Mumbai local train in April 2002. They were honored by the National Bravery Award by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Republic Day January 26th, 2003. The President Dr. Abdul Kalam awarded them the President’s Medal for Gallantry the same year. This story was incorporated as a chapter ‘Sibling Gallantry’ in the English textbook of Class IX in Maharashtra.

Media
Sharma was selected by Youth Incorporated for their “Power Woman” list alongside Oprah Winfrey, Sonia Gandhi, Melinda Gates and Devita Saraf in March 2012. She has featured in several talk shows and news broadcasts. She frequently writes for and is interviewed by major publications such as Readers Digest, The Times of India, DNA, Hindustan Times and Navbharat Times among others.