GAIL CSR Creates History
GAIL (INDIA) LIMITED
GAIL CSR Creates History – 39 underprivileged students make it to the coveted IITs
Kanpur, June 20, 2014: A whopping 39 students from economically marginalised backgrounds, sponsored by GAIL’s flagship education programme Utkarsh, have made it to the most coveted and prestigious engineering institutions of the country – the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
In what is considered to be one of the toughest entrance examinations in the world, 91 out of 100 students qualified in IIT Mains this year and 39 out of 91 cleared the IIT Advance round, all supported by GAIL (India) Ltd as part of its CSR intervention Utkarsh, in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
These students come from rural backgrounds whose parents are small/marginalised farmers or daily wage earners. They have done their schooling from government schools. As part of Utkarsh, every year 100 meritorious students from economically underprivileged background from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are screened through a rigorous process of written test and interviews. Once the students are finalised, these students are provided free residential coaching and mentoring scholarship programme for 11 months.
The part scholarship is continued to students who make it to the IITs for the entire duration of 4 years. Vivek from Varanasi says, “I come from a small village near Varanasi which is far away from the city. My father is a small farmer and his income did not permit me to afford private coaching. One day my fortune took a turn as I came to know about GAIL Utkarsh SUPER 100 through my favorite teacher. I sat for the test and cleared the interview. Thanks to Abhyanand Sir for his able guidance and mentoring, I cleared the IIT entrance exam.
I am grateful to CSRL and GAIL for this unique programme. I would certainly do my best to return to society in whatever way I can. May God give this program a long life, so that less fortunate students like me also get a chance to transform their life forever!” In 2013, 23 students from the Utkarsh programme had made it to various IITs. The stories narrated by the students indeed touch the heart. As part of its CSR efforts, GAIL has spent close to Rs. 91 crores in the last fiscal. Utkarsh is a unique flagship programme of GAIL in the education thrust area.
