Established in 1975, NTPC is India’s largest power utility with an installed capacity of 73,824 MW (including JVs), plans to become a 130 GW company by 2032. NTPC Ltd. is India’s largest integrated power utility, contributing 1/4th of the power requirement of the country. With a diverse portfolio of thermal, hydro, solar, and wind power plants, the company is committed to adopting best practices, fostering innovation, and embracing clean energy technologies for a greener future.
India’s leading integrated power producer NTPC Limited has been recognised as one of the “World’s Best Employers 2023” in the Forbes World’s Best Employers list 2023 released on 10th Oct 2023. It ranked 261st out of top 700 companies in the World ranking and is the only Indian PSU to figure in the list.
NTPC has been spending more than the prescribed amount as per the Company’s Act for its CSR initiatives each year. In the FY 2023-24, the PSU spent Rs. 200.57 crore on CSR initiatives, exceeding the prescribed amount of Rs. 112.79 Cr.
CSR of NTPC
CSR has been synonymous with NTPC’s core business of power generation. Since its inception, the Company has been very sensitive to the needs of the neighbouring community and persons whose livelihood has been affected due to the establishment of a power plant. Considering this the company has been undertaking its community development initiatives, majorly at the local sites of its operations. However, considering inclusive growth & environment sustainability, some of the activities are also undertaken by it in different parts of the country to supplement governmental efforts. NTPC conducts a majority of its CSR initiatives through the NTPC Foundation.
During FY 2022-23, NTPC’s CSR programmes have benefitted about 450 villages and more than 400 schools at different locations. As per NTPC’s Annual Report for FY 2022-23, the Company’s CSR initiatives have touched the lives of around 16 lakhs people generally residing at remote locations in various parts of the country in one or the other way.
NTPC Foundation
With an objective to serve and empower the physically challenged and economically weaker sections of the society including women, NTPC Foundation has been set up by NTPC to take up projects & programmes addressing niche domains of socio-economic concerns. Through various initiatives such as operating healthcare centres, establishing disability rehabilitation centres, offering IT education, providing scholarships, promoting sports, and empowering women through skill training programmes, the NTPC Foundation strives to create a more inclusive and equitable society.
Major activities of the foundation include:
Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM)
GEM is a program wherein a four-week residential workshop for girl-children in the age group of 10 to 12 years is organised. The workshop aims at the upliftment of girl children through various interventions to make girls self-reliant and confident in all walks of life and become a catalyst in transforming their lives, and the lives of their families and bringing positive changes in the community they live in and the nation at large.
The participants for the summer residential workshop are selected from various Govt. Schools of villages in the vicinity of the Company’s Projects/Stations including the Company’s Joint Ventures and Subsidiaries. The entire cost of the programme including their boarding and lodging in a safe and secure environment of these girl children is borne by the Company. Further, free education is provided to around 180 girl students admitted to different Township Schools of the Company.
In 2022, the programme was implemented across 33 NTPC locations and welcomed approximately 2,405 girl participants. In 2023, the programme expanded to 40 NTPC locations, with participation of around 2,707 girls.
NTPC Limited recently announced that the integrated power company is gearing up to launch the latest edition of its flagship CSR initiative, the Girl Empowerment Mission (GEM), starting from April 2024. The new edition will add nearly 3000 meritorious children from underprivileged sections of the society at 42 identified locations of the power major, thereby taking the total number of beneficiaries above 10,000 mark.
This programme aligns with the Government of India’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ initiative and is designed to tackle gender inequality by nurturing girls’ imaginations and fostering their ability to explore boundless opportunities. The goal is to empower them to become catalysts of change, influencing not only themselves but also their families, communities, and the nation as a whole.
The GEM Mission, initiated as a pilot project in 2018 with just three locations and 392 participants, has since flourished into a nationwide movement. Despite challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the programme has continued to expand its reach and impact.
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centres
The NTPC Foundation provides IT Skills to visually/physically challenged persons through its Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Centres. The initiative aims to extend support to specially-abled individuals to move along the mainstream society. Around 2239 students have benefitted under this initiative till March’2021. They are placed at different Govt. Institutes, mainly in the banking sector, through various Centres, which were set up jointly with the University of Delhi, Gauhati University (Guwahati) and Devi Ahillya Vishwavidyalaya (Indore) and four Govt. Blind Schools at Ajmer (Rajasthan), Lucknow (UP), Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) and Mysuru (Karnataka). Currently, ICT Centre at Devi Ahilya VishwaVidyalaya, Indore, is functional and successfully imparts training to students with disabilities.
NTPC Foundation NILD Disability Rehabilitation Centres
NTPC, in collaboration with National Institute for Locomotor Disabilities (Divyangjan), is providing rehabilitation of Persons with Disability (PwDs) through its Disability Rehabilitation Centres at Korba, Dadri, Rihand, Tanda, Farakka and Bongaigaon through restorative surgeries, medical interventions, fitting of artificial aids and appliances, therapeutic services etc. Approximately 51500 PwDs were registered at these Centres, and around 112700 surgical corrections, serving aids & devices have been provided to them.
Programme for TB Control – DOTs cum DMC
Complementing the efforts being made by Govt. of India under the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) at the National level, NTPC Foundation has established 12 DOTs cum DM Centres (Directly Observed Treatment short course cum Designated Microscopy Centre) at Singrauli, Rihand, Dadri, Unchahar, Talcher, Korba, Vindhyachal, Ramagundam, Farakka, Kahalgaon & Sipat Power stations that cater to villages up to 25-30Km for Controlling the spread of TB & HIV. Currently, 11 centres are functional, and around 55970 persons were examined for TB up to March 2021. Out of 6599 patients who tested positive, 5727 patients have completed the treatment to date, and the rest of the patients are undergoing treatment.
NTPC UTKARSH
NTPC Utkarsh is the Merit Scholarship Scheme of NTPC. In order to encourage and motivate children and youth, for higher studies, from neighbouring villages of NTPC Projects / Stations, NTPC management has launched NTPC UTKARSH – a Merit Scholarship under the NTPC Foundation applicable to students from economically weaker & marginalised section of the community in the villages in the vicinity of NTPC Projects/Stations. The scheme benefits students from neighborhood communities pursuing X, XII, ITI, BE/B.Tech and MBBS studies.
