Urban slums are densely populated poor housing clusters inhabited by migrants from rural areas. Urban slums dwellers in India have to live in conditions like lack of access to essential services like clean water, sanitation, electricity, and waste management. Overcrowding, poor sanitation, and lack of access to clean water and healthcare contribute to the spread of communicable diseases like tuberculosis and cholera. Slum dwellers often face challenges in accessing quality healthcare due to distance, cost, and lack of awareness. Slums are frequently located in hazardous areas, such as flood zones or near industrial zones, exposing residents to environmental risks.
How can CSR empower slum dwellers in India?
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives can play a vital role in empowering urban slum dwellers in India. CSR can make a difference by educating and skilling slum dwellers, by improving access to healthcare services and medical facilities, by collaborating with government agencies to develop affordable housing, improving access to basic amenities like water, electricity, and sanitation and funding slum rehabilitation projects. CSR can financially empower slum residents by providing microfinance support to slum entrepreneurs, creating employment opportunities and supporting skill development programs for women and youth.
CSR of RPG Foundation
The RPG Foundation, the CSR arm of RPG Group, focuses on community development and has undertaken several initiatives to benefit slum dwellers in Mumbai with a focus on water and sanitation, healthcare, and livelihood programs. The Foundation works closely with communities to improve their lives, addressing issues like access to clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, and health awareness. The Foundation also implements projects like Project Swayam Drive and Project Swayam Digital to create commercial driving and digital skills opportunities for underprivileged communities. The RPG Foundation supports education, heritage preservation, and environmental initiatives.
CSR to promote Menstrual Hygiene in slums
ICCPL Foundation, in collaboration with Pinkishe Foundation, recently organized a special awareness programme in the Khichripur area of Delhi, East Delhi, Noida, and surrounding slums to promote menstrual hygiene and support underprivileged women and girls. The initiative aimed to educate women about menstrual health, dispel myths surrounding menstruation, raise awareness about the importance of proper hygiene practices, address concerns related to menstrual taboos, and distribute over 2,000+ sanitary napkins to those in need.
The Experts from the foundation took the lead in educating women and young girls about menstrual health, breaking long-standing myths, and emphasizing the importance of proper hygiene practices. The session witnessed an enthusiastic turnout, with women and girls gaining valuable insights into menstrual well-being. As part of the initiative, over 100 women received sanitary napkins along with practical guidance on maintaining hygiene, empowering them with the knowledge and resources to manage their health confidently.
CSR of Adani Wilmar for combating Malnutrition & Anaemia
Launched in 2016, the Fortune SuPoshan programme is an initiative of Adani Wilmar, implemented by Adani Foundation, the CSR arm of the Adani Group. The project, which is a mission against Malnutrition & Anaemia has been making an impact on countless lives with its unique approach that involves active engagement with stakeholders, including gram panchayats, local governing bodies, healthcare facilities, and ASHA workers.
Fortune SuPoshan touches the four core areas such as health, education, women empowerment and sustainable livelihood. The driving force behind the project are the SuPoshan Sanginis, or community health volunteers who act as a guide, confidante, and a community support system to improve nutrition and health levels.
The Fortune SuPoshan initiative has spread its wings to over 34 locations across India since its inception across 14 states, covering 1946 villages and 190 slums and touching the lives of almost 2.5 million population. It has been instrumental in reaching the 1,79,873 children between 0-5 years age group, improving the health of over 3,28,854 women of reproductive age, and reaching out to 1,08,606 adolescent girls through tailored interventions.
CSR of PepsiCo to Combat Child Malnutrition in Mumbai slums
In an attempt to fight malnutrition among children, Akshaya Chaitanya launched the Bowl of Growth Programme in October, 2024. The programme is designed to nourish and support the health of 1,000 children from balwadis (pre-schools) and 3000 from primary schools across Mumbai for a period of 6 months. The mission focuses on three key pillars which are Nutrition, Awareness, and Education to combat child malnutrition and foster healthier urban communities in Mumbai.
The program entitled “Fortified Multigrain & Millet-Based Supplementation to Address Malnutrition in 3- 14year-Old Children from Urban Slums Communities of Mumbai” is supported by the PepsiCo Foundation under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program. This intervention is being implemented in selected Balwadis and municipal schools of Mumbai.
NIIT Foundation’s Education and Skill Training initiatives
As per an announcement, 10,695 children benefited from Hole in the Wall Learning Stations (HiWEL) installed by NIIT Foundation in various slums, and underserved areas. These learning stations have proven that underprivileged children, when provided with quality infrastructure, are willing to learn and utilize their available resources to the full extent possible.
NIIT Foundation, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to empowering underserved communities across India through meaningful intervention by facilitating education, imparting skills and placing individuals in high quality jobs. With a commitment to bridging the digital divide, the NIIT Foundation equips youth with technical and soft skills that are very much in demand in the job market. The foundation leverages technology to enable learning, and provides counselling to ensure trained students are job ready.
The foundation has expanded its curriculum to offer specialized courses in AI & Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Cyber Security, and Web Designing—certificates that significantly enhance employability and serve as key differentiators during placements. It also places a strong emphasis on the development of essential soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and critical thinking that are vital for professional success.
A key part of the initiatives undertaken by NIIT Foundation is to ensure job placement for certified youth. To achieve this, NIIT Foundation has partnered with various companies, and the partnerships continue to grow as new agreements were made this quarter with IBM, Johnson Matthey and United Way Mumbai. These partnerships enabled job placement of 27,321 students, as per an announcement. These students have been trained under various programmes focussed on emerging technologies, and other in-demand skills.
PNB Housing Finance’s CSR for Healthcare Access for Underprivileged Communities
PNB Housing Finance, a leading housing finance company through its CSR arm Pehel Foundation, recently announced the launch of the second phase of its Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) Programme in partnership with Wockhardt Foundation. The programme is aimed at improving primary healthcare access for construction workers and underprivileged communities across key regions of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad, providing doorstep medical services to them.
The programme is designed to address the lack of accessible and affordable healthcare services near construction sites and slum areas. Construction workers and their families often forego basic medical treatment due to high commute costs, long queues at hospitals, or fear of wage loss from time away. PNB Housing Finance and Wockhardt Foundation have joined hands to bridge this gap and offer a sustainable solution by bringing primary and preventive care directly to them.
The medical vans will offer essential services including general check-ups, treatment for common ailments, diabetes and hypertension management, and referrals for advanced treatment. In addition, the MMUs will continue to conduct health education and hygiene awareness sessions, and promote access to government healthcare schemes, further empowering these communities with knowledge and preventive practices.
