Chhattisgarh is a heavily forested mineral-rich state. It has historic importance for being the birthplace of the mother of Lord Rama. The state is known as the “rice bowl” of India as it produces a large amount of rice. The availability of minerals and resources attracts many corporates to set up their operations in the state. This also makes it a preferred destination for various CSR activities.

In FY 2022-23, the state received Rs. 596.11 crore in CSR funds from 300 companies. The top five spenders in the state include Jindal Steel and Power Limited (Rs 235.32 cr), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (Rs 40.37 cr), Steel Authority of India Ltd (Rs 40.2 cr), NMDC Limited (Rs 36.43 cr) and HDFC Bank Limited (Rs 34.41 cr).

The top three areas of focus for CSR initiatives in the state include Education (Rs. 302.38 crore), Healthcare (Rs 167.72 crore) and Rural Development (Rs. 78.38 crore).

Top recipient districts in Chhattisgarh

The top three districts that were recipients of CSR funds in Chhattisgarh were Raigarh, Raipur and Bilaspur which received Rs. 273.34 cr, Rs 89.36 cr and Rs 27.99 cr respectively.

Top CSR projects in Chhattisgarh

CSR of South Eastern Coalfields Limited

South Eastern Coalfields Limited is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Coal India Limited – one of the largest government-owned coal producers in the world. SECL is one of the highest coal producing companies of India. The coal mines of SECL are spread across two states namely Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. SECL is the second largest CSR spender in Chhattisgarh in FY 2022-23.

SECL has planted a staggering 1,46,675 saplings across its operational areas in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Plantation drive was conducted in 8 districts of Chhattisgarh and 3 districts in Madhya Pradesh, covering an area of over 56 hectares. Additionally, the company distributed 25,000 saplings to communities residing near its mining areas.

This initiative was part of a nationwide plantation drive, launched in July 2024 by Union Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, encompassing all coal PSUs across the country. The initiative also aligns with the centre’s ongoing “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” campaign (One tree in the name of mother).

SECL had announced in July 2023 that it will invest Rs 169 crore for tree plantation in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh where it operates. The company aims to plant over 26 lakh saplings in Chhattisgarh and 12 lakh in Madhya Pradesh between 2023-24 and 2027-28. The plantation will be carried out for a period of five years with its subsequent maintenance of 4 years for each consecutive year of plantation.

SECL announced on 7th October that the company is inviting applications for free residential coaching of SECL’s Sushrut to prepare for National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) 2025. SECL provides free residential medical coaching to students of Class 12th under its CSR initiative, SECL’s Sushrut. The company mentors and provide coaching to students to help them prepare for the exam. The move is aimed to benefit students from poor economic background, especially in villages in coal belt areas of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Under the programme coaching will is provided to students in partnership with a Bilaspur-based private coaching institute. The program is residential with regular national-level test series and also includes lodging and boarding facilities.

CSR of Steel Authority of India

One of the largest steel-making companies in India and one of the Maharatnas of the country’s Central Public Sector Enterprises, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is working to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition in Chhattisgarh. The company, which is the 3rd highest CSR spender in Chhattisgarh in FY 2022-23, is also promoting healthcare including preventive healthcare in the state.

Twenty one villages in the periphery of Bhilai have been identified for adoption as model steel villages where SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant’s CSR Department is engaging in a number of sustainable activities such as empowering the rural folk, specially the women under the Swyamsiddha or self-employment project, providing basic infrastructure facilities development as well as activities aimed at providing school children opportunities to express their talent.

In 2007 and 2011, the Plant established two Bhilai Ispat Vikas Vidyalayas to provide free education to children from BPL families. The SAIL Bhilai Steel Plant also set up Ispat Kalyan Chikitsalaya for the extending medical treatment to economically backward section of society in the township and its periphery. The Plant also adopts tribal children every year, providing free residential education, accommodation and meals.

Since 2009, BSP has been supporting the government’s mid-day meal scheme by providing financial support to Akshaya Patra Foundation for providing mid-day meals in 176 government schools in Bhilai-Durg area.

Bhilai Ispat Siyan Sadan, a senior citizens’ home has been running since April 2010. This initiative of SAIL-BSP has been recognised by the Govt of India with Vyomshreshta Samman in 2016.

Bhilai Steel Plant has also been conducting SAIL-KHEL Mela since 2007 in association with Ramkrishna Mission Ashram Narayanpur- a mega sports event covering school going children of Rowghat Mines area.

CSR of NTPC for Education

A total of 31 Naveen Swami Atmanand School buildings in Chhattisgarh are undergoing renovation with the support of CSR funds. The initiative has been supported by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) through their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts. Reportedly, Rs 15.72 crore has been donated for the cause.

The project, aimed at creating conducive learning environment for students, focuses on upgradation of the school infrastructure. Efforts are on to refurbish the classrooms, laboratories, libraries, and other essential facilities, ensuring a well-rounded educational experience for the students.

The renovation work, which includes repairing roofs, floors, and sanitation facilities, is nearing completion. An allocated amount of approximately Rs. 50 lakh has been directed towards each school, enabling the comprehensive transformation of educational spaces.

Apart from structural enhancements, the initiative also encompasses the procurement of modern equipment and a diverse collection of books, enriching the academic resources available to students. This holistic approach aims to create an environment that nurtures curiosity, creativity, and academic excellence.

CSR of Ambuja Cements for Rural Development

Ambuja Cements, the cement and building material company of Adani Group, through its CSR arm, is working to address the critical water shortage in Magarway village in Baloda Bazaar-Bhatapara district. The villagers face significant challenges due to the dependency on the pond as their primary water source. The limited capacity of the pond led to water scarcity issues, impacting daily life, agriculture, and livestock. The community, recognizing the importance of the pond, sought its deepening to ensure a more reliable and sustainable water supply.

Ambuja Cements in collaboration with local authorities has implemented a comprehensive water conservation initiative including deepening of the local pond, which is a lifeline for Magarway village.

The company in a statement announced that its efforts have substantially enhanced water availability for nearly 500 residents, positively impacting their daily lives by providing sustainable access to water. Now, the pond’s capacity has been expanded to an impressive 3,606 cubic meters, with a profound impact on groundwater levels, resulting in a water supply for 6 to 8 months annually.

CSR of Quick Heal for Cyber Security

Quick Heal Technologies Limited, through its CSR arm – Quick Heal Foundation, unveiled a transformative initiative, “Cyber Shiksha for Cyber Suraksha – Earn & Learn”, in Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh in Novermber, 2023. In collaboration with the Cyber Youth Development Association (CYDA), this programme aims to aims to contribute to the region’s cyber resilience, reducing the risk of cyber threats, and fostering a safer online environment in Rajnandgaon, which has been identified as an aspirational district. It has been ranked second in the baseline assessment for India’s 101 aspirational districts by NITI Aayog, with a score of 47.96 percent.

The core objective of the programme is to bring aspirational district talent to the mainstream, providing them with the opportunity to excel while enhancing cybersecurity awareness among the youth and the community in Rajnandgaon. Under the initiative, 40 dedicated student volunteers have been shortlisted, with 30 selected from Government Digvijay College, Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh and Government Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar College, Dongargaon, Chhattisgarh, while 10 from the community. These volunteers are undergoing comprehensive training led by CYDA’s master trainers, who have received expert guidance from the Quick Heal Foundation. The training encompasses cyber awareness sessions, capacity-building workshops, and personality development programmes.

CSR of Bharat Aluminium Company

Leading aluminium producing company owned by Vedanta Limited and the Government of India, Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) is the 7th highest CSR spender in Chhattisgarh in FY 2022-23.

Project Connect aims to enhance the learning environment in government schools near the company’s area of operation by fostering a supportive environment that improves student grades, offers career counselling, and encourages employee volunteering. The project is currently being run in partnership with Sarthak Jan Vikas Sansthan. In FY’23 BALCO claims to have supported 2500 students from grades 9th to 12th through Regular classes in 6 Government Schools and Remedial classes at 3 Resource centers in SEMA (Science, English, Maths & Accountancy) subjects.

Project Mor Jal Mor Maati has started to ensure sustainable livelihood through integrated water and farming system. The project has been focusing on improving the surface water management with existing resources, augmenting irrigation facilities, equipping farmers with the latest farming techniques, and promoting multi-cropping to reduce the dependence on rainfall. It is also bringing farmers into the fold of animal husbandry, horticulture and non-timber forest produce, ensuring income generation round the year. During FY’23, 2400 Farmers reportedly benefitted and cumulatively brought 1000 acres of land under secured irrigation in 32 villages. Farmers were supported in different activities like, promotion of modern farming techniques, crop & livelihood diversification, water security and FPO development.

Project Unnati was initiated with a focus to empower and mobilise women into Self Help Groups (SHGs) and develop their capacities and skills for entrepreneurship. During FY’23, 44 New SHGs (Self Help Groups) were formed taking the total to 504 SHGs, engaging 5389 women members, claims BALCO.

Project Arogya is a comprehensive health initiative providing quality Primary health care services through Rural Health Posts with special emphasis on Maternal & Child health, particularly targeting the malnutrition and also awareness campaigns on HIV. During the year, the programme reportedly reached out to over 30,000 people through curative and preventive healthcare services.

CSR of National Mineral Development Corporation

National Mineral Development Corporation Limited (NMDC), a Navratna Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Steel, Government of India is the single largest producer of iron ore in India. It owns and operates highly mechanized iron ore mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. The company is the third highest spender for CSR in Chhattisgarh in FY 2021-22. NMDC Limited is working to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition in Chhattisgarh and promoting healthcare.

NMDC Limited operates Balika Shiksha Yojana and scholarship scheme in Bastar district and has been conducting Smart Classes to provide quality education in Dantewada Block.

‘Prayas – A Pursuit to Education’ is a Literacy and Education-based initiative that is nearly two decades old. A significant percentage of children residing in communities around NMDC Projects were not even having access to primary education due to lack of quality educational infrastructure in the region. We also noticed a high dropout rate among school-going children and a lack of access to technical/ professional courses. The prevalence of this difficult situation was more marked among the female student population, who had very few facilities to pursue higher education.

To help these children realise their dream, the CSR division launched the Prayas programme. ‘Astha Gurukul’ is a Residential School for children belonging to SC, ST & orphans. ‘Saksham’ is a school for differently-abled children at Dantewada. ‘Choo Lo Aasman’ lends Tutorial Support along with regular schooling from class 9th to 12th for Tribal students aspiring to appear in Professional Competitive Exams like IIT/ PET/PMT etc. ‘Ujjar’ is a scheme to help 100 bright students to pursue higher education. NMDC provides financial assistance of upto Rs. 75,000 per student, per year, for 4 years. ‘Lakshya’ provides coaching to unemployed youth to appear for job oriented competitive exams.

The programme ‘Kaushal – Skilling people’ is aimed at the emancipation of the backward communities residing around NMDC Project sites. The goal is to provide opportunities for local tribal youth and women in order to gain meaningful employment and for livelihood generation through skill development.

CSR of HDFC Bank

HDFC Bank Parivartan, the flagship CSR programme of the bank, organized the first edition of its mega rural livelihood summit Titled ‘Chhattisgarh Rural Livelihood Summit 2023’ in Raipur, Chhattisgarh under the initiative STREE (Social & Transformative Rural Economic Empowerment) in August. The initiative aims to benefit over 120,000 women farmers across 6 states, including Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Assam. The Bank partnered with Grant Thornton Bharat LLP and Society for Development Alternatives for this initiative.

The summit provided a platform for stakeholders to share knowledge and experience in promoting rural livelihoods, Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs), government initiatives, and ecosystem development. The initiative would reach 27,000 beneficiaries, including 20 women led FPOs, 10,000 FPO members, and 17,000 non-FPO members in Chhattisgarh.

HDFC Bank Parivartan has five pillars: Rural Development, Promotion of Education, Skill Training & Livelihood Enhancement, Healthcare & Hygiene, and Financial Literacy & Inclusion. The Bank has spent Rs 820.89 crore in FY 23 on CSR initiatives, benefiting more than 9.93 crore beneficiaries across 27 states, as per an announcement.

Waste to Health Programme by Vedanta

Vedanta Aluminium & Power Business is fostering hundreds of MSMEs in remote rural areas with its ‘waste to wealth’ programmes. Waste to wealth projects forms a key pillar of Vedanta’s sustainability agenda that is centred around ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge’. In the Korba district of Chhattisgarh, the company is running a programme whereby it is fostering local micro-enterprises in fly-ash brick making.

The company supports over a hundred brick manufacturing MSMEs situated around and beyond its areas of operations with fly ash and transporting it free of cost to their doorsteps, amounting to nearly 5 lakh metric tonnes per annum. In addition, the company also provides the know-how and training on manufacturing these bricks in partnership with technical institutes, thus creating employment avenues as well as promoting a circular economy.

The beneficiaries of this project are underprivileged villagers who would otherwise depend on cattle rearing, subsistence agriculture or would migrate to other states to work as construction labourers for their livelihood.