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May 30, 2025
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Mastercard builds on COVID-19 response with new commitment for 2025

By
The CSR Journal
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The health and economic consequences of COVID-19 have highlighted the critical need to support vulnerable populations, many of whom are disproportionately impacted. In this time of global crisis, Mastercard has expanded its worldwide commitment to financial inclusion, pledging to bring a total of 1 billion people and 50 million micro and small businesses into the digital economy by 2025. As part of this effort, there will be a direct focus on providing 25 million women entrepreneurs with solutions that can help them grow their businesses.
The extended commitment builds on the company’s ongoing efforts to address the COVID-19-related health and economic challenges facing individuals all over the world.
In the first weeks of the global health crisis, Mastercard committed up to $25 million in seed funding to establish the COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome, The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the UK Government and others to help speed up the response to the COVID-19 epidemic by discovering, developing and scaling-up treatments for deployment around the world.
“If we’re going to recover in any sort of long-term, sustainable way, we have to make sure that everyone is included. Getting people access to the digital economy is a critical part of that,” said Ajay Banga, Chief Executive Officer at Mastercard. “This is so much more than philanthropy. This is an opportunity to develop commercially-sustainable and scalable social impact with government and private sector partners—and to do it in a way that helps society-at-large thrive.”

In United States of America

In the U.S., Mastercard has worked with non-profit microfinance organization Grameen America to support its technology transformation and to transition low-income women entrepreneurs to digital banking. Thanks to this partnership, women can establish a financial identity and grow their businesses by digitizing their operations and accessing microloans. To date, Grameen America has disbursed over $1.5 billion to help more than 132,000 women entrepreneurs build or expand their businesses. During the current coronavirus crisis, digital payments have enabled them to continue disbursing same-day loans to women entrepreneurs in need, providing critical lifelines of support to their businesses.

In Mexico

In Mexico, together with Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and its coffee export company Exportadora de Café California (ECC), the company created a digital supply chain payment system that provides a streamlined, safe, secure and speedy way to pay farmers directly, allowing them to earn more for their crop. NKG and Mastercard are building on these efforts to bring digital payments to other markets and protect more vulnerable cash-only farmers.

In Kenya

In Kenya, the company partnered with Unilever to create Jaza Duka (fill up your store), a digital program for micro-merchants in Kenya with more than 18,000 duka owners already registered. The program provides a micro-credit eligibility recommendation to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), which can then assess a retailer’s credit worthiness and extend formal credit for stock purchases.
Reaching the one billion goal will require a broad range of efforts, including ongoing work on government disbursement solutions, wage digitization of private sector workers, partnerships with mobile network operators, solutions for gig workers, scaling efforts with fintechs, digital platforms and digital wallets/apps, solutions addressing needs of the financially vulnerable and the expansion of CityKey and Community Pass programs.
This announcement builds on Mastercard’s ongoing efforts to support an inclusive recovery by leveraging the company’s technology, capabilities and reach.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

Labour Day 2020 – Migrant Labourers in India during Lockdown

By
Hency Thacker
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A disaster or a calamity hits the poor more than the rich. This has been recently justified with the migrant labour crisis observed across the country. In the fight against COVID-19 Pandemic, India has been under lockdown for more than a month. While this has ensured that the virus does not spread rapidly in the country with high population density, it has given rise to uncertainty and panic among the daily wage migrant labourers across the country.
International Labour Day is an official public holiday all over the world in various countries. It is observed every year to pay tribute to the contribution of workers across the world. Considering the crisis faced by the workers globally, the theme of International Labour Day or May Day 2020 is Coronavirus as decided by the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

Problems faced by the Migrant Labourers in India

Migrant labourers and their families in India generally survive on a hand-to-mouth existence. They do not have any substantial savings that could help them on a rainy day. The lockdown because of the pandemic has resulted in the loss of employment for these workers. With no income and high expenses of city-life, the labourers are keen on going back to their villages.
Many migrant labourers in India live on the grounds of their work in temporary accommodations. As the lockdown has caused a shutdown of many such sites, the workers are stranded with nowhere to live and nothing to eat.
Uncertainty of life caused because of the outbreak of the pandemic has also generated fears among the migrant workers of not being able to meet their families. This has caused panic among them with many going to the extent of walking hundreds of kilometres to be with their loved ones.

Actions by the central government for the Migrant Labourers in India

The central government has authorised the return of migrant labourers, students, pilgrims or tourists who do not have symptoms of coronavirus to their home states. Additionally, in its order, the home ministry has asked the states to appoint nodal bodies and draw up protocols for the movement of stranded people. “The moving person(s) would be screened and those found asymptomatic would be allowed to proceed,” the government said. After arriving at their destination, they will have to stay in home quarantine for 14 days, unless institutional quarantine is advised, the order said. Buses will be allowed for the interstate movement of the people and they should be sanitised between trips, the order read. The rules of social distancing should be maintained in the seating arrangements.
The central government has also begun one of the most comprehensive exercises to map migrant workers scattered across the country. The government wants to create a database of millions of such workers to ascertain whether a relief package could be announced for the most affected segment of the workforce.
For the workers living in rented accommodations in cities, the Centre has issued directions to the district administration and superintendent of police to ensure migrant workers and other poor people are not compelled to pay rent by their landlords.
The government has allowed the migrant labourers in India to withdraw EPFO money advance and as on April 9, 149,891 members have availed of the facility.
The central government is also taking care of psycho-social issues in shelter homes where migrant workers are staying and experts and counsellors from Central mental health institutes are visiting them.
The Union government is going to launch an online portal for the migrant workers in the unorganised sector impacted due to a national lockdown imposed to check the spread of Covid-19 in India. The portal, which has been tentatively named by the labour and employment ministry as the National Portal for Covid-19 Affected Unorganised Migrant Workers, will gather the details of all the unorganised sector workers who are stranded in relief camps, residential or industrial clusters.

Actions by state governments for the Migrant Labourers in India

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government has announced a package of Rs 45 crore for the provision of accommodation and food for the migrant workers. It has also granted permission to the inter-state movement of migrant workers stranded in the state. In a notification issued on April 30, 2020, the state government said, migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded in the state can leave for their homes within the state and to other states after following the procedural practices laid down by the government. Similarly, people of Maharashtra stranded in other states can also return to their homes by adhering to the prescribed guidelines. The notification said people who desire to move shall be screened and only those who do not show influenza-like symptoms or symptoms of COVID 19 shall be allowed to proceed. It said in the case of persons showing symptoms, the future course of treatment will be followed as per the standard health protocol. The Maharashtra government has also set up 262 relief camps for migrant labourers where they will be provided food and shelter.

Delhi

Delhi government has appealed to the workers to not leave the state and stay put. For their benefit, it has converted several schools to shelter homes. It has also ensured that the workers at the shelter homes are provided with food and basic necessities.
Delhi CM has joined hands with Google Maps to help the people in need of food or shelter. The app is adding food shelters and night shelters to provide relief during the lockdown. It has enabled direct search feature for the shelters. The feature to find the locations of food and night shelters is a step to make this information easily available to the users in need, and ensure they can avail the food and shelter services being provided by the government authorities. The feature is initially available in English. However, Google is working on enabling the experience in Hindi as well.
The government has issued 11 Hunger Helpline numbers, one for each district in the national capital. The helpline numbers have been issued to ensure that people are not deprived of food. The Hunger Helpline numbers will be operational between 11 AM and 3 PM; 6 PM and 9 PM daily. The government has set up control rooms in all the offices of the District Magistrates in the city. The numbers are:
1. East district: 8375879007
2. North East district: 9136469416
3. Central district: 7428210545
4. New Delhi district: 7290978054
5. North district: 8595364814
6. Shahdara district: 8595269577
7. South East district: 7048998835
8. West district: 8595269589
9. South district: 9818523225
10. South West district: 9871662109
11. North West district: 8595552073
Additionally, for the workers who are adamant on returning to their home states, the government has arranged buses for them to ensure that they are transported to their destinations safely.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh was the first state to take action for transferring the migrant workers back to their home. On March 28-29, it had facilitated the return of around 4 lakh people from Delhi. The government has also ensured the return of about 50,000 people from Haryana and Rajasthan. Around 13,000 people are being brought back from Haryana. Earlier the government brought back 11,500 students of the state from Kota in Rajasthan and ensured that 15,000 students from Prayagraj return safely to their homes in different districts of the state.
In preparation of their arrival, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the state officials to keep ready quarantine centres, shelter homes and community kitchens for 10 lakh people. CM Adityanath appealed to those stranded in other states to be patient and not start walking towards their homes. The state government has written letters to different states seeking detailed data on migrant labourers and workers of UP along with their names, mobile numbers and addresses as well as medical reports.
CM Adityanath has suggested that these quarantine centres and shelter homes could be set up in college buildings and must have a proper facility of community kitchens, toilets and security among other things. He directed setting up committees to maintain a vigil on those who are quarantined at home with the help of Nehru Yuva Kendra, NSS and NCC. He has also suggested that the assistance of women self-help groups could be taken for preparing food. The CM has also asserted that proper medical examination of these migrant labourers must be conducted before sending them back home from quarantine centres or shelter homes.

Karnataka

The state of Karnataka has made plans to bring back the workers that are stuck on only in different parts of the country, but also abroad. In order to ensure the safety of these workers, the government has directed that the workers can be sent in KSRTC buses to 40% capacity ensuring social distance and the workers should be mandatorily provided masks and gloves.
Acknowledging the poor mental health of the stranded workers and other people because of the lockdown, Helplines have been set up by National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) which work through Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) to address the depression and anxiety among the people. In the State of Karnataka, counselling has been given to 21,000 migrant workers. The counselling service is extended to those who are quarantined in institutions as well as those who are in isolation.

मजदूर दिवस – मेहनत का नाम है मजदूर

By
Rahuldeo Sharma
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किसी ने खूब कहा है कि, मैं मजदूर हूँ, मजबूर नहीं, अपने पसीनें की खाता हूँ, और मिट्टी को सोना बनाता हूँ। मजदूर – वो कहीं भी बैठ जाते हैं, कहीं भी खा लेते हैं और कहीं भी खुले आसमान के नीचे चादर डालकर सो लेते हैं, कोई भी आकर उन्हें डांट जाता है, उन्हें बार-बार यकीन दिलाता है कि तुम सिर्फ मशीन की तरह काम करने के लिए पैदा हुए हो, तुम्हारे पास तुम्हारा अपना कहने के लिए कुछ भी नहीं है, यही हर मजदूर की कहानी है। लेकिन आज के परिवेश में मजदूरों की अलग ही व्यथा हो गयी है, तस्वीरें विचलित कर रही है, तस्वीरें डराती है, तस्वीरें आपने कई देखी होगी, मुंबई के बांद्रा की, दिल्ली की, सूरत की, हर जगह मजदूर मजबूर दिखाई दे रहा है। कोरोना के इस संकट काल में जहां जिंदगी को बचाने की जुगत में हर कोई है वहीं इन मजदूरों का किसी को कोई परवाह नहीं है। इन्हें इनकी हाल पर छोड़ दिया जाता है और फिर दिखता है सूरत, बांद्रा और दिल्ली जैसी भयावह तस्वीर।

कोरोना के संकट काल में आज विश्व मना रहा है मजदूर दिवस

कोरोना काल के इस संकट की घडी में मजदूर दिवस की भी विशेष महत्वता हो जाती है, इस संकट में सबसे ज्यादा मजदूरों की बात हुई, सरकारें खूब चिंतित हुई, मीडिया में खूब सुर्खियां बनी, लोगों ने मदद के हाथ आगे कर खूब वाहवाही लूटी, लेकिन महीना से भी ज्यादा दिन बीत जाता है अभी तक मजदूरों की परिस्तिथि में कोई बदलाव नहीं आया। आज 1 मई है, अंतरराष्ट्रीय श्रमिक दिवस, (Labour Day) यानि मजदूर दिवस, शायद यही एक मात्र दिन बना है जब भारत में मजदूरों की बात होती है, उनके सुरक्षा, रक्षा की बात होती है, मजदूरों के हितों की बात होती है, उनके हक़ की बात होती है।लेकिन आज इस ख़ास मौके पर हम बात करेंगे उनकी लॉक डाउन (Lock Down) में परेशानियों की, उनकी दिक्कतों की, उनके भूख की, मजदूरों के घर की, उनके गांव जाने की। लेकिन ये बताना जरुरी है कि आज ये हम ऐसी बातें क्यों कर रहें है, क्योंकि 1 मई मजदूर दिवस है।

क्यों मनाया जाता है मजदूर दिवस

मजदूरों का किसी भी देश के विकास एवं उन्नति में महत्वपूर्ण योगदान होता है। मजदूरों के बिना किसी भी देश में आर्थिक और औद्योगिक ढांचे के निर्माण की कल्पना करना संभव नहीं है। मजदूर सभी कामों की धुरी होने के साथ मानवीय श्रम का आदर्श उदाहरण भी होते हैं। मजदूर कड़कड़ाती सर्दी, भीषण गर्मी व मूसलाधार बरसात जैसे कठिन से कठिन हालातों में अपना पसीना बहाते हैं और अपना मेहनत बेचकर मजदूरी पाता हैं। मजदूरों के हिस्से में कभी कोई इतवार नहीं आता। रोज कुआं खोदकर प्यास बुझाना ही उसका काम है। यही कारण है कि कड़ी मेहनत करने वाले मजदूर कभी नींद की गोली नहीं लेते बल्कि हर ज़ोर जुल्म की टक्कर में संघर्ष उनका नारा होता है।
मजदूरों का यह संघर्ष हमें 1886 को अमेरिका में देखने को मिलता है। जहां के मजदूरों ने संगठित होकर काम की अधिकतम समय सीमा आठ घंटे तय करने की मांग की थी। अपनी यह मांग मनवाने के लिए उन्होंने हड़ताल का सहारा लिया और इसी हड़ताल के दौरान एक अज्ञात शख्स ने शिकागो के हेय मार्केट में बम फोड़ दिया। पुलिस ने गलतफहमी में मजदूरों पर गोलियां चला दी जिसके कारण सात मजदूरों की जान चली गई। इस घटना के बाद मजदूरों की मांग मान ली गई और उनके काम की समय सीमा अधिकतम आठ घंटे तय कर दी गई। इस ऐतिहासिक विजय की याद एवं अपने हक के लिए कुर्बान हुए मजदूरों के स्मरण में तभी से हर साल 1 मई को अंतरराष्ट्रीय मजदूर दिवस मनाया जाता है। इन सब के साथ यह दिवस मजदूरों की निष्ठा, लगन, परिश्रम व कर्तव्य को दर्शाता है।

लॉक डाउन में मजदूरों का छलकता दर्द

भारत ने कोरोना वायरस के संक्रमण को रोकने के लिए लॉकडाउन लागू किया, लॉकडाउन लागू होते ही देश के कोने-कोने से ऐसी तस्वीरें आईं कि लोग भूख और प्यास से तड़प रहे हैं, प्रवासी मजदूर अपने घरों को लौटने को बेताब हैं, तालाबंदी ने दिहाड़ी मजदूरों की कमर तोड़ दी है। रोज खाना कमाने वाले अब सरकारी इंतजामों पर निर्भर हैं। तालाबंदी के बाद बेघर और बिना काम वाले लोग एक वक्त की रोटी के लिए लंबी-लंबी कतार लगाए बैठ गए।पेट की आग ऐसी कि वे सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग क्या होती है यह भी नहीं जानना चाहते। जो कभी गांवों और कस्बों से निकलकर शहरों में रोजगार की तलाश में आए थे, वह एक वायरस के कारण उसी हालात में वापस आने के लिए बेताब हैं। आंखों में सपने लेकर गांवों से शहरों में आए लोग पैदल या ट्रक का सहारा लेकर लौट रहे हैं, शुरवात में वे भूखे रहे, प्यासे रहे, सरकारी बदइंतज़ामी दिखी। लेकिन अब तो ये मजदूर भूखें तो नहीं है लेकिन बस किसी तरह अपने गांव, अपने परिवार और अपने लोगों के बीच जाना चाहते है।

दिहाड़ी मजदूरों की दयनीय दशा

अकेले दिल्ली में बिहार के 40 लाख से अधिक मजदूर काम करते हैं, महाराष्ट्र में 10 लाख दिहाड़ी मजदूरों की संख्या है, और ये सभी मजदूर इन दिनों एक ही बात से परेशान है, भले ही इन्हे खाना मिल रहा हो लेकिन इनका कहना है कि कोरोना से मरने से अच्छा है कि अपनों के पास जाकर मरे, जाहिर है इन दिहाड़ी मजदूरों की हालत बहुत दयनीय है। कोरोना संकट काल में ये घर के न हुए और ना घाट के। दिल्ली, मुंबई जैसे शहरों में रोजी रोटी की तलाश इन्हे अन्धकार की उन गलियों और उन घरों में लेकर जाती है जिन घरों में रौशनी तक नहीं आती। घर में पैर डालते ही घर ख़त्म हो जाता है, आलम ये होता है कि तंगहाल जिंदगी में सोशल डिस्टेंसिंग के मायने खत्म होने लगते है। लॉक डाउन में इन घुटन और कोरोना से बचने के लिए इनकी बेताबी जायज भी नज़र आ रही है। बांद्रा और दिल्ली की तस्वीर में अगर विद्रोह नहीं होता तो शायद ही आज सरकार इस नतीजे पर नहीं आती कि अब मजदूरों की घर वापसी हो।

कोरोना काल खत्म होते ही क्या होगा मजदूरों का

एक आकड़ों की माने तो भारत में मजदूरों की कुल संख्या 4 करोड़ 87 लाख है, जिनमें 94 प्रतिशत मजदूर असंगठित क्षेत्र के हैं। देश में मजदूरों की संख्या जाहिर करती है कि मशीनी क्रांति के बाद भी मजदूरों की महत्ता कम नहीं हुई है। लेकिन अफसोस इस बात का है कि आज भी भारत जैसे लोकतांत्रिक देश में मजदूरों की दशा सुधारने के लिए काम नहीं होता, उनकी दशा पर राजनीति होती है। पलायन करते मजदूरों पर हर कोई अपील कर रहा है, योगी हो या नितीश लेकिन अगर यही लोग और देश के तमाम मुख्यमंत्री अपने अपने राज्यों में नौकरियों और रोजगार के लिए मौके देतें तो आज ये हालात नहीं होते। बहरहाल कोरोना काल में परिस्तिथि डरावनी है ही लेकिन बाद की तस्वीर और भयावह होगी। आर्थिक और औद्योगिक दृष्टिकोण की बात करें तो यही मजदूर अपना खून पसीना बहाकर देश की जीडीपी में योगदान देता है, यही मजदूर हमारी और आपकी जिंदगी को आसान बनाता है। हमारे लिए काम करता है ताकि हम तरक्की की राह चल सकें। संकट के बाद अगली बार जब इनसे सामना हो तो जरा इनकी पथरीली आंखों में पल रही मेहनत को देखिएगा, ना कि उसकी मांगी मजदूरी में से पैसे काटने के बहाने तलाशिएगा। क्योंकि अगर ये ना रहें तो आपकी और हमारी जिंदगी पर बिना किसी कारण के ही लॉकडाउन लग जाएगा।

देश में फंसे प्रवासी मजदूरों को उनके घर जाने की मंजूरी

केंद्र सरकार ने बुधवार को लॉकडाउन के 35 दिनों बाद प्रवासी मजदूरों को बड़ी राहत दी है। सरकार ने अपने आदेश में कहा कि देश के विभिन्न हिस्सों में फंसे हुए प्रवासी मजदूर, छात्र और पर्यटक अपने घरों को जा सकते हैं। इसके लिए राज्य सरकारें बसों का इंतजाम करेंगी। गृह मंत्रालय ने इसका आदेश बुधवार को जारी कर दिया है। मंत्रालय ने 6 प्वाइंट्स की गाइडलाइन राज्यों को भेजी है। इसमें बताया गया है कि कैसे सरकारें इन फंसे हुए लोगों को उनके घर तक पहुंचाने का काम कर सकती हैं। सरकार के इस फैसले से देशभर में फंसे करीब लाखों मजदूरों, छात्रों, श्रद्धालुओं, सैलानियों को राहत मिलेगी।
135 करोड़ की आबादी वाले भारत में 12 करोड़ की जनसंख्या तो उन अप्रवासी मजदूरों की ही मानी जा रही है। अब जब हम एक मई को विश्व मजदूर दिवस मना रहे होंगे तो क्या देश इनके बारे में सोचेगा? क्या कोरोना के संकट से निपटने के बाद इन लोगों के श्रम को सम्मान और सुरक्षा मिल पाएगी? क्या पलायन की त्रासदी को कम करने के बारे में सोचा जाएगा? देश का मजदूर भिक्षु नहीं हैं, वह श्रमजीवी हैं, उनकी अपनी अस्मिता है, सम्मान है, उन्हें सम्मान से रोजगार दिया जाना चाहिए। उसके मेहनत का वाजिब मूल्य भी मिलना चाहिए। आईये, हम कोरोना संकट में आए इस मजदूर दिवस को हम कुछ इस तरह से भी सोचें और ये माने कि मेहनत का नाम है मजदूर।

COVID-19 News: Vedanta imports 23 PPE machines for mass production of medical gear

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The CSR Journal
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In a move aimed at supporting frontline healthcare workers and doctors during Covid19 times, Vedanta Limited, one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company has enabled mass production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) in Gurugram. The Company has imported 23 PPE machines recently in collaboration with the Ministry of Textiles, and has teamed up with authorised apparel manufacturers to roll out over 5000 PPEs per day.
PPEs are a critical gear for healthcare workers and India, like most other countries, is working overtime to procure PPEs for the safety of its health workers. Vedanta has so far produced around 15,000 PPEs. The company has also provided more than 3.5 lakh masks through its Business Units to the local communities and has handed over another 2 lakh N95 masks to the Ministry of Health.
Imported machines in operation to manufacture PPEs at an approved Gurgaon factory unit
Imported machines in operation to manufacture PPEs at an approved Gurgaon factory unit
Said Ravi Capoor, Secretary, Ministry of Textiles, “The Union Textiles ministry is grateful to Vedanta Group for extending help by providing the much-needed machinery for manufacturing PPEs to AEPC.” Anil Agarwal, Vedanta Chairman, said: “India has shown tremendous resilience in fighting the impact of Covid-19. We have earned goodwill from the world for supplying critical medicines to many countries. I am confident that we will rise above this setback. We are working towards creating a New India and will help create a self-reliant economy as the Lockdown lifts in a calibrated manner.” As part of a strategy to support the local community, the company is now focusing on innovative solutions to support the poor and the marginalized sections.

Vedanta has spent INR 151 crores on its COVID-19 initiatives till now, and has reached out to more than 7 lakh community members across 7 states in the past one month.

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta group company, has started an innovative movement – Grain Bank – wherein SAKHI SHG women collect grains and pulses at the village level so as to reach out to the daily wage earners. More than 8,000 kg of food grains have been procured under this plan, which is now being adopted by other Vedanta Business Units as well.
Vedanta Lanjigarh is offering Telemedicine facility to the local community in the region, helping patients connect with doctors for free consultations. A team of specialist doctors, including Pediatricians, Orthopaedics, General Physicians, and Ayush doctors attends to the sick people over phone and WhatsApp every day and medicines can be collected from the Vedanta Hospital pharmacy free of cost.
Vedanta has also joined hands with Apollo Hospitals in offering a 24×7 general helpline for its employees to ensure timely healthcare advice during the lockdown. Their families can also avail of the helpline services. The company is leveraging on technology to make sure community development programmes continue uninterrupted during the lockdown. Aspirational educational programmes like Shiksha Sambal and Unchi Udaan are being continued through online tutorials using technology-based applications like Google Hangout, Zoom & WhatsApp.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

CSR News – BFIL Contributes 1 Crore to PM CARES Fund

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The CSR Journal
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Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd. (BFIL), a 100% subsidiary of IndusInd Bank, has contributed 1 Crore rupees to the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund).
The fund was set up in March by the Government of India to help fight the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Shri G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs, Government of India received the cheque from BFIL representatives at the North Block office in New Delhi yesterday. He appreciated the company for coming forward and strengthening the fight against COVID 19.
In addition to this contribution, BFIL has been working to help state governments in Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to get access to essential medical equipment like testing kits, PPEs, and other sanitation requirements and also train frontline health workers to protect themselves against the virus.
M.R. Rao, MD & CEO, BFIL said, “We are witnessing an unprecedented crisis and the entire BFIL family stands in solidarity with the nation. With this contribution to PM CARES Fund and many other initiatives at the grassroots level, we are providing all possible relief to needy people in villages and small towns across India.”
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

CSR News – Bata donates 1 million pairs of shoes to healthcare workers, volunteers

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The CSR Journal
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As a global leading shoe company, Bata feels responsible towards all its stakeholders including the communities in which it operates across countries. This is why the Bata Group commits to donate 1 million pairs of shoes to healthcare workers, volunteers and their families, the front-liners fighting the COVID-19 with admirable courage and dedication every day. The donation will impact a number of countries, in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and India.
“During these unprecedented times, Bata is committed to doing everything possible to ensure the health and safety of our employees and consumers, to continue to serve our consumers to the best of our ability, and to take meaningful action to help communities in need and those on the frontlines” said Alexis Nasard, Bata CEO. “Now more than ever, we are committed to upholding our values and to improving the lives of our consumers, employees, suppliers, customers and communities.”
Since the onset of the outbreak, Bata through its ‘Bata Heroes’ initiative, has been working with its long-standing foundations, charitable partners, government officials, and other organizations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, in India, Czech Republic, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Colombia, Italy, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chile, Peru, Thailand, Malaysia. Bata produced and donated face masks, face shields and protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers, as well as donated food, hygienic products, or funds through the Bata Children’s Program and the Bata Shoe Foundation.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

COVID-19 News: Responsenet Prepares Rehabilitation Plan for Migrants

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The CSR Journal
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In an endeavour to support millions of migrant families during the COVID-19 outbreak, Responsenet, a CSR implementation organization, launches ‘SwachhGiri’ and ‘SwachhLabs’ initiative to provide solutions to health and safety problems faced by vulnerable communities. The initiative focuses on generating actionable schemes that can help overcome the problem of water, sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), education, health and livelihoods with a focus on migrant families.
Further, the initiative will help rehabilitate the migrant workers once the situation attains normalcy. This will be done by re-skilling and up-skilling the workers and providing basic amenities to the families. Through multiple collaborations, Responsenet is also developing a scheme to engage with non-formal school-going children with presently no access to education and are severely impacted by the lockdown.
Speaking on the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood of over 4o million migrants across India, Ms Angela Nar, Director, Responsenet said, “Over the past many years we have been relentlessly working with the migrant communities. However, the time calls for more stringent actions to safeguard the community especially post the lockdown. We are working with our partners to reskill and upskill migrants to help find livelihoods near them. Our ongoing skill development programs assure 70% employment for those that successfully complete the training. “
Since the first phase of lockdown, Responsenet has provided over 2.5 million ration and hygiene kits to daily wage earners and migrants from the states of New Delhi, Haryana, Assam, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Telangana, West Bengal, Daman & Diu and Punjab. The kit contains basic amenities such as Atta, Pulses, Spices, Cooking Oil, masks and Soaps which will be distributed beyond the lockdown period to ensure the well-being of migrant during the testing times.
The efforts are supported by various partners and individuals such as KFC India, Microsoft, AON, to name a few who have come forward for those grappling with limited or no access to essential items, including food, for their families.
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

CSR News – Cognizant Employees Support COVID-19 Helpline in Mumbai

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The CSR Journal
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More than a dozen qualified doctors employed with technology major Cognizant in Mumbai have volunteered to be a part of a special telephonic helpline set up by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) to address citizen questions on COVID-19.
Cognizant has over 2,700 medical professionals worldwide, including physicians, nurses, and pharmacists who provide critical services such as pharmacovigilance, clinical data management, medical management and claims management, among others, to healthcare and life sciences organizations globally.
Under Cognizant’s employee-led volunteering programme Outreach, Cognizant employees are supporting several governmental and non-governmental organizations across India on COVID-19 initiatives. One of these initiatives is the COVID-19 helpline set up by a group of physicians led by Mumbai-based consulting physician Dr. Tushar Shah to contain fear, panic and speculation by providing people with relevant, non-prescriptive information.
Before joining the helpline team, Cognizant’s doctor volunteers took a two-week virtual training from Dr. Shah on various aspects of running a helpline, such as gathering information from callers, reading symptoms, and responding to various types of questions. “Responding to the COVID-19 crisis has put frontline healthcare personnel under severe strain,” said Dr. Tushar Shah, adding, “Our helpline is an attempt to ease the pressure on hospitals and doctors, enable those in need to get treatment on priority, and equip citizens with useful and accurate medical information. I am pleased that Cognizant’s employees have volunteered to apply their medical skills to the larger ongoing efforts to deal with the crisis. Their participation has expanded our reach across marginalized communities and areas with limited access to medical expertise.”
“We are privileged to be a part of an important helpline in times of a pandemic,” said Ramkumar Ramamoorthy, Chairman and Managing Director, Cognizant India. He added: “Most questions to date have been about likely symptoms, self-isolation, diet, hygiene and testing of COVID-19. Through the helpline, Cognizant volunteers have been able to provide non-prescriptive advice to marginalized and underserved communities as well. We are deeply appreciative of the untiring efforts that Dr. Tushar Shah and all experts associated with this helpline are putting in to empower the citizens of Mumbai to take on the challenge and threat of COVID-19.”
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content

COVID-19 News – Free mental well-being webinars for students across India

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The CSR Journal
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Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, research has found a broad worsening of mental health indicators among college students in the country. Now, students are facing new, complex challenges such as adapting to distance learning, isolation from peers, concerns about family, health, career and financial security.
St. Mira’s College for Girls, Pune organised a series of mental well-being awareness sessions to address these concerns and help students navigate through this stressful time. The college has been running various programmes to support the student community during the coronavirus global pademic. This series is an extension of the college’s ongoing full time Mental Well-being programme, where students receive both preventive and interventive mental health care.
The webinar series was announced on 23rd April 2020. An online survey was done to assess college students’ mental health concerns during the lockdown. Pooja Jain, the Mental Well-being programme coordinator, St. Mira’s College for Girls said that around 310 students signed up for these sessions from various colleges across the country including students from Trivandrum, Visakhapatnam, Ghaziabad, Patna and various cities and towns of Maharashtra.
St Mira's Mental Well-being webinar
Mental well-being webinar conducted by St. Mira’s College in progress
The first webinar held on April 25 focused on practical skills and ways to manage anxiety. The second webinar, two days later, was about building healthy social connections with peers and family members. Students felt that the practical insight and conflict resolution skills helped them in improving their relationship with parents and identify unhealthy relationships with peers and social media.
The last webinar in the series focused on holistic well-being and mindfulness. A psychologist demonstrated various mindfulness techniques that students can practise daily, with most students reporting a feeling of relaxation. The college, which lays emphasis on citizen social responsibility, has planned more such seminars in the coming weeks.
“If we want to deal with the impact of this pandemic and build emotionally resilient youth, we need to shift our conversations from Productivity to Self-Care. We have to consciously make mental health a priority for students,” said Jain. Dr Gulshan Gidwani, Principal, St Mira’s College, added: “Human beings have a lot of resilience yet there may be many who may just buckle under. We must try to help them with the burdens they carry, the fears they are battling, by reaching out to them and helping them in any way we can.”
Disclaimer: This media release is auto-generated. The CSR Journal is not responsible for the content.

Ayushman Bharat Diwas: Potential for Private Sector in India

By
Kasmin Fernandes
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Ayushman Bharat Diwas is being observed across the country today. It’s a significant day because it stands for affordable medical facilities to the hardest-to-reach. What better circumstance to appreciate affordable healthcare and universal health coverage than the current COVID-19 outbreak which has gripped the world?

What is Ayushman Bharat?

Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is one of the most ambitious government schemes yet, enabling India to achieve its avowed goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030. 
Billed as the world’s largest scheme of its kind, the PM-JAY, launched on September 23, 2018 has a target of 10 crore families, extending them coverage of tertiary care hospitalisation. Within a year of its launch, the scheme which provides annual coverage of INR 5 lakh per family, as many as 46.5 lakh patients have already availed of the benefit. Find out more about it on the official portal for Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Two facets of Ayushman Bharat

While the health and wellness centres (HWCs) aim delivery of an expanded range of services close to the community, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) focuses on providing secondary and tertiary care services to the underprivileged section of the society. It is not the health insurance coverage alone; equally important is another dimension of the scheme. Under Ayushman Bharat, 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres would be set up in the country, making it one of the largest public primary healthcare networks in the world.
Being the second-most populous country in the world with 1.3  billion people, India has entered a demographic dividend phase. It means a significant bulge (over 66%) of our population is in the high consumption/ working age of 15-64 years. Writes Deepak Sood, Secretary-General, ASSOCHAM in a report about Ayushman Bharat: This advantage is going to last till 2055; but then, people have to be healthy and educated so that India can boast of its human resource which is amongst the best in the world. This scheme is a critical pillar here.

Scope for private sector partnerships

The current design of the programme clearly calls for synergistic collaboration between the government and private sector to nurture the vision and turn it into reality. Whether it is the involvement of private healthcare providers in ensuring quality secondary and tertiary care services to Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) beneficiaries or support for enabling digital health and screening programmes for strengthening primary healthcare in health and wellness centres (HWCs), the private sector can be leveraged in all the aspects of the programme.
Synergistic partnerships between the government and the private sector offer ways to contain the potential costs by capping commitments into the long term and leveraging ultra-lean models of care provision. Partnerships with the private sector can be leveraged by maximising with increasing the output for government with limited public capital; ensuring quality healthcare services to the people and enabling sustainable return on their investment for private players. These collaborations can help ensure greater efforts towards developing future care models that can expand via access through technology, standardisation, skills mix and economies of scale. 
Said Elias George, Chairman of Infrastructure, Government and Healthcare practice (IGH), KPMG India in an interview: “Partnership of the Ayushman Bharat Yojana with private sectors can be leveraged in all key areas such as ensuring patient engagement, provisioning of standardized care, grading performance of hospitals, mitigating fraudulent activities by leveraging innovative digital solutions, and developing future care models…” 

Working with insurance players 

AB-PMJAY provides the flexibility of mode of implementation to its participating State. Many participating States are greenfield and have faced several challenges in planning, implementing and monitoring of the scheme mainly due to lack of experience. Insurance players could play a very important role in administration of the scheme and the government could play a role of payer and regulator. Insurance players are highly regulated by IRDA and it enacts standard operating procedures and compliances to safeguard both, the beneficiaries and the payer. 

Digital health in India

Another area with huge potential for collaboration is digital health. India has witnessed emergence of large number of digital health players in the last five years. Some of the digital health players have adopted innovative technologies and business models breaking the barriers of distance, infrastructure and human resources. Increasing virtual consultation, telemedicine, health ATMs, e-PHCs, digital dispensaries and digital health technology players have showcased huge potential to bridge current challenges in public health.
There is increasing use of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and sensor technologies in areas of early detection of diseases, disease management and treatment. Such digital health private players could be leveraged for HWCs and also AB-PMJAY in terms of fraud management, analytics, and technology-enabled third-party monitoring and evaluation of the scheme. 
Going by the proverb, well begun is half done, it’s imperative that both the government and private players foster dialogue with each other by building a collaborative forum.
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